He Worries About Her
by soloscribe
Summary: Gibbs worries about Kate, the risks of their jobs & how hard she pushes herself.  Recovery goes wild & she needs her people to help her. AU that ignores the last few minutes of Twilight. Whole team appears, now complete.
1. Chapter 1

He worries about her—even now, when she's asleep, head cushioned against his thigh and her breath slow and steady. She pushes herself hard, too hard, and she's trying to push through cracked ribs like it's child's play. Ribs she cracked taking a bullet to the vest. For him. Even if it happened three weeks ago, she didn't do herself any favors this afternoon, tackling a fleeing suspect and ending up on the ground.

"_What the hell are do you think you're doing?" he had snapped at her, wrestling the suspect's arms behind the man's back and clipping the handcuffs into place before he could try to buck her off._

"_Stopping him," she'd groaned. When she had tried to push herself up, she had whimpered a string of cuss words. Although Kate had resisted help, it had taken both him and McGee to get her to her feet. Her face was ashen with pain by that point, and he finally got her to admit that she was close to blacking out._

_It had earned her a trip to the ER, although a call from Ducky had gotten them straight into an exam room, followed promptly by x-rays and, of all things, an ultrasound to check for injuries to internal organs. In the end, she had been diagnosed with bruised ribs and still a few smuges that indicated cracked ribs struggling to heal. They had been partly from her original injury and probably aggravated by the fall today. He had guaranteed the doctor that she would be taking a week off work. Thankfully, by that point she was so looped on the pain meds that she didn't argue back. _

Unfortunately for Agent Todd, tomorrow was going to hurt. A lot. Even with a fresh pain prescription. He figured she had a few days at home before she tried to buck the system and sneak back into work early. She would give him that scowl and an impassioned list of reasons why she could handle it, and generally put on that tougher-than-nails-I-grow-what-I-need that had made him a sucker for her in the first place. Gibbs was determined he wasn't falling for it this time.

She might shut herself up in her room for a while, but he would win her back over again with some ice cream and her heating pad. The heating pad he had bought for her one afternoon when they were working a case and she was practically doubled over with cramps. She had refused to use it until he sent DiNozzo and McGee off to interview suspects. But she had finally caved, realizing that the over the counter pain reliever wasn't cutting it.

Her touch on the back of his hand drew his gaze down. She smiled up through half-lidded eyes, the smile lazy and wide. "Your hands are stong," Kate slurred slightly, smaller fingers tracing his.

"Shipbuilding does that," he answered, his own smile in his voice. She was pretty gone on these pain meds. He might have to talk to Ducky about whether or not they needed to adjust the dosage. But not tonight. Tonight he wanted her to be able to rest and mostly escape the pain. He hated seeing her hurt.

She murmured in agreement. "We should do that."

"Do what, Katie?"

"Ship. Building it. You know, building the ship. You have a ship to build?"

He chuckled slightly, adjusting the blanket that was draped around her. "I have a ship to build, but let's wait until tomorrow before we work on it again."

"It's too early to work?" she asked, blinking owlishly up at him, eyelids drooping a little more. "We should, though … build the ship … it's downstairs?" Kate started to shift a little, but his arm kept her gently pinned in place, and she didn't seem to have the energy to resist it. Nor, it seemed, did she have the will to resist the lure of the soft couch.

"Tomorrow, Kate. If you think you can handle those stairs, I'll let you watch me work on it tomorrow." No way was he going to let her try to sand or saw like this. If she didn't end up in a lot of pain from the movement, she was so out of it on this medicine she was likely to slice her hand open with one of his tools. On the other hand, she probably wasn't going to remember a word of this conversation tomorrow.

Her head nodded slightly against his thigh, olive eyes slipping shut. "M'kay … tomorrow … gonna work … ship. Work on the ship."

"Tomorrow," Gibbs soothed, his hand stroking over her dark hair. "Sleep now."

"Mkay."


	2. Chapter 2

_Well I didn't plan to write a second chapter for this, but it sort of wrote itself. No idea if anything else will follow this, but enjoy. My muse is fickle :-/ Reviews are wonderful. I own nothing and no one._

She was twisting her body, falling through the air and straining to get herself between the bullet and him. Her entire body felt the impact of ballistics against kevlar, but her chest felt it most of all. It robbed Kate instantly of air, and she crumpled instantly. For a half moment of shock, she wondered if it had been her undoing, if it had hit something besides the vest. Darkness hovered, and she fought it, fought hard against the flashes of tiny dots against her eyes, determined not to pass out.

When her vision cleared enough to see, she spotted their attacker on the next rooftop over, gun lifted, pointed straight at Gibbs's chest, and she cried out in warning, trying to make her leg work fast enough to sweep his out from under him. Damn him for not wearing his vest. It wasn't working, she couldn't move her leg, it felt so leaden. Hands reached out, trying to snag hold of it, knowing it would be too late...

With a cry of shock, Kate landed on the floor, the world coming into painful focus. Her arm was wrapped around a leg, and deep blue eyes were staring down at her.

"Damn it, Kate," Gibbs muttered, his hand settling very lightly against her back.

She was shaking from the surprise of coming out of a nightmare so quickly, and it wasn't doing her ribs any favors. Carpet was under her, a couch in front her, and she still couldn't piece together how she'd gotten to a couch, much less onto a floor. She took a careful, shallow breath, or one she thought was careful. It seared, making her gasp for more air and let out a pained whimper before she could bite down her bottom lip.

"Kate?"

She flushed in the dimly lit room, trying to get up and not even able to get her arms under her. Moving, she concluded was bad. Very, very bad. It pulled at tendons and muscles making her bite down harder on her lip to muffled the curse that slipped out. Her eyes were tearing up, and she didn't try to hold back as they streaked down her cheek.

"Relax, okay? I'm gonna help you up." Gibbs slipped hands under her shoulders, carefully shifting her until she could get her feet under her. "Couch or recliner?" One arm remained around her, the other brushing away tears.

Kate blinked at him stupidly, the raw ache in her body making it hard to think. _Couch or what? _"Um..."

"Recliner," he decided for her, gently guiding her to it and sliding his hands down her back to help support her while she got settled. "I'm calling Ducky to check you."

She sank into the cushioning of the chair, barely breathing for a few long moments. Just the act of moving an arm to help balance herself had cost her. Currently, she didn't care who was in the room, she was still trying to center herself. After her short experiment with trying to get herself off the floor, she had concluded that moving shouldn't happen again. Not for a long time.

The afternoon before, she hadn't really been thinking when she threw herself at the bullet. It had been pure instinct, and if she could find any humor she might laugh later that the Secret Service should be proud of themselves for ingraining _whatever it takes_ into her. It was sobering to think how close they had come to not walking away from it. Despite the pain in her ribs, she wouldn't have changed her decision. Although she might have submitted to the overnight hospital stay to get the morphine.

"Kate?"

She blinked, realizing that Gibbs was standing in front of her, holding out a cup and a pill. "Huh?"

"Try these." It was to-the-point, and she was glad because her brain wasn't processing much besides _ouch!_ at the moment. On auto-pilot, she obeyed, feeling the muscles pull as she lifted the glass to drink. It had been a long time since she had cracked ribs, and she had forgotten how it made a person hyper aware of every muscle, tendon, and nerve involved in even the smallest movements. "And take deep breaths."

"Hurts too much," she protested, making a face as she tried to obey. Between the ache and the tight bandage wrapped around her rib cage, it took energy to get a normal breath, much less a deep one. She swallowed the pill, making a face at the bitter taste.

When she finally finished the last sips of water, he took back the glass. "You need to eat something."

"Not hungry," she answered, hand curling around her chest in an attempt to find a tolerable position.

He shook his head, grabbing a pillow from the couch and sliding it carefully under her arm to support it, letting her relax a few more degrees. "I didn't ask if you were hungry."

Her guts ached, and she couldn't imagine trying to swallow food right now. The pain was making her feel nauseous, and she wasn't completely sure she was going to keep down the pain medicine, much less anything else solid. Her mind shut off that thought because she really, really did not want to throw up right now. "Gibbs, anything that does down won't stay there."

"Food never stays down there," he answered dryly, and when she didn't comment, his brow wrinkled in concern. "I'm calling Ducky."

She was too tired to argue. It was easier to let him handle it, to give into the care. It was biased of him to look after her like this, when she's sure he would never do it for Tony. But the feminist part of her brain is being silenced by the fact that she really can't take care of herself right now. For all practical purposes, she knows she should be in the hospital. Last night he had helped her check out against medical advice and barely with Ducky's approval. Their medical examiner had only give his consent when she agreed to the two conditions: 1. that she would let Gibbs call if anything came up, 2. that she not stay alone.

Since they stepped out onto the rooftop together the afternoon before, she had only been alone for a few moments to use the restroom. Even when they took her down to x-ray, Tony had been standing in the little booth with the x-ray technician in her line of sight. Gibbs had shown up hours later, when she was doped up on morphine. Kate wasn't really sure what he had looked like the night before, she barely remembered that he had checked her out and helped get her to his place. "You came to the hospital later," she said, half to herself, bits of the evening starting to come back to her memory.

"I had business to finish," he answered quietly.

_"Stay with her, DiNozzo," Gibbs tossed the command to him as he raced for the fallen terrorist's rifle and cocked it. Their target was fleeing, and although they still had him in sight, Haswari was clearly looking for the fastest way out of there. Gibbs raised the rifle and took the shot, watching Haswari fall. A second shot to be sure, and the man ceased moving. "McGee, watch him. Don't even blink until I get up there."_

_Kate hadn't seen anything from the ground once he fell, and she only struggled to sit up once. Once was enough to convince her to wait for paramedics. She braced her arm against her aching side._

_"Hold still," Tony ordered quietly, using an emotion she rarely heard from him- concern. He knelt down, peeling back the Velcro strips of her vest, trying not to move her as he worked to loosen it._

_She clenched her teeth, unsure if she wanted the weight off or the support against her side. "Y-you better enjoy this, Tony. It's the only thing you'll ever get to take off of me."_

_Dark eyes met hers solidly. "That's not funny, Kate. He almost killed you." Tony had stripped back her vest, not taking it off because it would mean moving her and would have hurt too much. His assessment had been professional, a silent testament to his concern._

She was so lost in thought that she hadn't heard Gibbs slip from the room, but she was relieved to see him return with the heating pad. It took only a moment to plug in, and then he was helping her settle it against her side. The warmth was almost immediate, and it was easing away some of the pain, along with the pain meds she had swallowed and which were working fast, thanks to her empty stomach. "Better, thanks," she murmured, eyes starting to slide shut again. Drowsiness was creeping through her, limbs suddenly heavy. She didn't fight the urge to relax. "Gibbs?"

"Hmm?" he murmured quietly.

"You... got him, right?" She didn't trust her memory right now.

"He can't touch you again, Katie." There was a slight pressure against the top of her head, and the gentle caress of fingers through her hair. "Get some rest."


	3. Chapter 3

_I own nothing; feedback is love (and occasionally helps me with plot bunnies gone awry)_

"Kate? Kate, come on, wake up," Gibbs called, leaning down beside the arm chair, his hand resting on her arm and giving a gentle squeeze. He wasn't going to shake her- it would hurt, and she would probably panic. "Kate, grab your-"

"Jethro!" Ducky scolded, "finish that sentence and poor Caitlin is likely to reach for her gear and put more stress on her ribs."

Gibbs frowned but moved out of the way, letting the medical examiner pull up a chair and try to coax Kate from sleep. "She wasn't doing so hot, Ducky. She was pretty out of it last night, and she panicked when she woke up and ended up on the ground."

The elder man's head lifted. "She fell out of the chair?"

He shook his head, nodding toward the furniture behind him. "Off of the couch. She fell asleep lying down and woke up on the floor. And she asked me if I was sure I got Ari. She didn't seem to remember everything. Something's not right."

"Caitlin, dear, you need to open your eyes," Ducky coaxed, giving her a little bit of an encouraging smile when he saw two slits of glassy amber appear. "There we are ... good morning. You relax, but you must stay awake." He turned a slender wrist over, eyes on his pocket watch as he counted beats. "How are you feeling?"

Her brow wrinkled. "Still hurts. Didn't mean to take the bullet, just reacted..."

Gibbs was bending down on her other side. "What do you mean?"

"Other day. Got shot. I wasn't trying to be a hero, I just reacted."

"Ducky-" He hated that his tone was making Kate look up in confusion, but this wasn't right. The shooting on the rooftop had happened three whole weeks ago. Yesterday they were in a garage when she took down the suspect. Despite the fact that the doctor had wanted to keep Kate the first time she had been injured, yesterday they had taken x-rays of her chest, wrapped her up, doled out a prescription, and released her. It had seemed very routine.

"Yes, I know," Ducky answered, his voice calm in an attempt to soothe them both. "Keep her talking."

"Kate, what do you remember?" Gibbs coaxed, trying to keep the urgency out of his voice when her eyes blinked and were slower to re-open than he would have liked. He took her free hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "Look at me, what do you remember?"

She blinked, trying to focus as she took a slow breath. "Rooftop. You shot him. Tony was with me... McGee's okay?"

"McGee was fine," Gibbs assured. "You took the hit, and you're going to be okay, too, right Ducky?"

"Mmm," came the non-committal reply. Ducky stood, fishing in his pocket for his pen light before gently cupping Kate's chin in his hand. "Look up, eyes open, dear."

She was on auto-pilot, eyes opening a little wider as he aimed the light at her pupils. From his seat nearby, Gibbs could see the slight reaction. "So bright," she murmured, blinking in reaction. "Feel sick again, too."

Ducky looked over at him, questioning.

"I tried to convince her to eat something this morning, but she said she didn't think she could keep it down."

"That does it," the medical examiner quickly gathered his things. "Get her into the car, and we're off to the hospital."

"That bad?" Gibbs asked, alarmed. "Fine, we'll take her in, I'll track down that doctor from last night."

"I'll worry about the doctor who released her," the gentleman answered, voice rigid. "I can take care of this one more effectively than you. She has a date with a CAT scan and some new medicine. I don't want to rule anything out, and perhaps this time we will have someone with sufficient medical competency to shed a little more light on the subject. Caitlin, we're going in."

Now was not the time to argue, and Gibbs recognized that as he bent down, sliding arms under his agent and lifting her. "Get the door." She looked paler as he lifted, her head falling to his shoulder and barely moving until he was trying to settle her as easily as he could into the backseat. He buckled the seatbelt around her, adjusting it carefully to be sure it was in place. "Kate, you better stay awake."

"Yes, boss," she mumbled, eyes widening a little in an attempt to comply.

He paused only long enough to dig out a bucket from the trunk and drop it beside Ducky in the backseat before he climbed into the driver's seat and started for the hospital. Part of him wanted to tear through the streets, but he knew she would end up feeling worse. He only drove through two red lights before pulling into the circular drive at the E.R. A flash of his NCIS badge and a toss of keys later, and he was carrying Kate to the nearest gurney while Ducky cut through some red tape. Sometimes their jobs definitely had perks, though he would prefer not to have to use those perks like this. He hoped that Ducky found the doctor who had released Kate before he saw the man- he really didn't want to spend the night in jail for assault, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold his temper.


	4. Chapter 4

_Well, this story is taking its own twists and turns on me. Not sure how well Abby works for me, but here we go with it. I have no idea how long this fic will be when it's all said and done, but thanks for coming along for the ride. Enjoy.. _

"Hey, Kate," Abby greeted quietly, muting the already low volume on the television and perching on the edge of the hospital bed. Her morning had been busy- the boss calling her to come to the hospital, followed by handing her a sample and sending her to the lab, only to recall her back to the hospital shortly before lunch- but the early afternoon had passed slowly as she sat at Kate's bedside.

Until now, the special agent had spent the afternoon asleep, her system still sluggish as it worked to rid itself of the pain meds gone bad. Abby pressed the call button and smoothed the un-rumpled sheet that covered her friend. "How do you feel?"

Amber eyes blinked slowly, still a little glassy as they roamed the room. She lifted one hand to feel at the line that was providing a steady stream of oxygen to her nose. "Feel like crap." Her gaze still wandered, though her body didn't really move. "Thirsty. Everything's achy..."

"Well, you're awake and that's a good sign," the nurse answered from the doorway. He moved into the room and came to join them, checking her monitors for current stats heart rates and oxygenation. "Abby, you can give her some water. If that goes okay, we'll see about juice in a little while. Does that work for you, Agent Todd?"

Kate nodded weakly, relaxing back into the pillows and accepting the cup. She sipped from it, draining almost half of it before she slowed down a little. "Sorry... I don't remember much about how I got here. Did... Gibbs? Or maybe, was it ..."

"Gibbs and Ducky brought you in," Abby answered, moving aside to let the nurse in. "Kyle's going to check your blood pressure. You've been sleeping half the day." She watched as Kate took a slow, hard swallow and stared up at her as the nurse wrapped the cuff around her arm and began to inflate it.

"What happened?" Kate asked, watching the nurse as he worked, gaze occasionally flickering to Abby.

"You got hurt the other day, and they gave you the wrong pain meds. You had a bad reaction to it. It looks like your prescription was too much, but they haven't ruled out anaphylaxis, yet."

Kate was quiet for a few moments, and Abby wondered if she was trying to process this information or if her brain was still foggy from the medication. She finally settled on a reply of, "oh." It sounded uncertain, and Kate looked at her for assurance. It was nothing like the Kate she knew- this lost looking person who seemed smaller surrounded by the hospital equipment.

"It's okay. You're doing a lot better. Isn't she, Kyle." Her gaze met his, and she gave him a hard stare. It was true- Kate was doing better, but considering what Gibbs had told her about Kate's condition when they arrived this morning... anything but improved would have been really, really bad. Currently her official status was '_guarded_,' but she might get upgraded and moved to a normal room before the day was through.

_The ringing phone cut into her deep sleep, demanding a reply. "Gibbs?" Abby mumbled, pushing back her hair and trying to get a sense of what time of day it was. _

_"I need you to come to Bethesda as soon as you can."_

_Those words alone launched her out of bed in an instant, throwing on the light as she searched for trousers and a shirt. "What happened?"_

_He hesitated half a second, and her gut twisted. Good news waited until normal hours. This was not good. Before she could speak another word, he had said, "It's Kate. Ducky came over to check up on her, and we took her in right away. They overmedicated her. And they haven't ruled out head trauma, either."_

_She had clicked speaker phone long enough to tug a shirt over her head and pull her hair into quick ponytails. "Is she-"_

_"Ducky's in there with her right now. He didn't know if they would have to pump her stomach or give her something else that's supposed to counter act it. I need you to get over here, Abbs."_

_"On my way!"_

"She's doing much better. You're on the upside of it, and everything is stabilizing." Kyle's voice brought her back to the present. He was one of those laid-back types, serious and studious and a little like McGee. Eager to assure. Okay, he was more confident than McGee, more self-assured. It was exactly the kind of nurse they needed right now. These were the assurances that Kate needed to hear right now-that Gibbs and Ducky would need to hear. "Dr. Merch will probably want to keep you overnight for observation, though you can probably go home tomorrow."

"Still hurts," Kate whispered, taking a slow breath and plucking at the sheet. "I hurt my ribs? Didn't that... wasn't that on the rooftop? Why do they still hurt this bad?"

The nurse swung a questioning look in Abby's direction.

"Uh... you fractured ribs a few weeks back on the roof, but you re-injured them yesterday taking down a suspect. Tony said you would have made a great linebacker," Abby tried to joke, hoping to lighten the mood.

Her head shook slightly. "I don't play contact. My brothers took me down too many times playing football as a kid. They never would play flag."

It was a little comforting to hear Kate speak of her brothers. At least she remembered something, although it seemed like the last day or two was still a blur to Kate. Abby was glad Ducky had insisted on a sample of Kate's blood so that they could run some independent tests at NCIS. She hadn't been surprised that the doctor had prescribed an opioid, considering the cracked bones, but she had been surprised at how high a dosage had been in Kate's system. When she had called Gibbs with the update, he had shocked her by saying that he had actually missed a dosage. Kate had been sleeping so well that he hadn't wanted to wake her up, and he had assumed that as long as she was able to rest, she should.

If he had given her that missing dose, she might not have opened her eyes ever again.

Kate's left hand, the one that wasn't hooked up to an IV, tugged at the blanket. "It's so cold in here."

"I'll get another blanket for you," Kyle replied, checking the IV and noting its progress. "It's one of the side effects of your body trying to deal with the drugs you were given."

She nodded, blinking owlishly. "Thanks... do I have to keep this in, too?" she asked, slowly adjusting the oxygen tube where it hooked over her ear.

"For now, but I'll ask the doctor if we can take it off later this afternoon. I'll be right back with that extra blanket. Abby, do you need anything?"

Abby shook her head. "Thanks, I'm fine, Kyle." She gave him a small smile before turning it toward Kate, hoping it was reassuring. It was weird to see Kate like this- out of it and a little scared. Usually Kate was as solid as they came, focused. Gibbs had said once that Kate would have done well in the military, and Abby had to agree with him.

Kate's gaze was wandering again, looking around the room slowly. "Where's Gibbs?" When Abby didn't immediately reply, Kate finally moved, shifting partly onto her side. "Abby?"

"He's with Ducky, probably trying to find legal charges for the doctor who gave you that prescription. It's his new bone." She toyed with one of the spiked rings on her finger. "He's really worried about you, Kate." It wasn't news to Abby that Gibbs was extremely protective of their whole team. He might push them hard, and he often demanded more and more from them-but it was because he knew they were capable of more, and he always fought hard for each of them. Still, the only other time Abby had seen Gibbs this upset about a member of his team were two: 1. when Tony had the plague and 2. when he realized that Ari had Kate.

Any further comments were silenced for now as Kyle returned with a blanket draped over his arm. "This should do the trick," he replied, unfolding the cover. The blanket was soft and warm to the touch, and Abby smiled a little as Kate relaxed further into the bed, clearly savoring the comfort. As tough as Kate might be, she did love her creature comforts.

"Better," the special agent murmured, eyes sliding shut involuntarily. "Hard to stay awake, though."

"Let your body rest," Kyle replied, tucking the blanket up to her chin. "I'll be back in about an hour to check your heart rate and the readouts, and we'll wake you up for dinner." He glanced at Abby with a small smile. "Besides, I'm sure your friends will be around if you need anything."

Abby nodded sharply. "Right here, Kate." She dug into the bag she had brought from her friend's house. "I'll even read you to sleep. Look- that cheesy vampire romance thing you love. Seriously, _Twilight_? I think Anne Rice just died a little." She caught the small smile that spread across Kate's face, finally reassured that her friend was going to be okay. "Get some rest. Once the Boss-Man gets here, you're gonna have to put on that 'Special Agent Superhero No Drugs Can Get Me Down' act, okay?"

"Deal," was the last word Kate murmured before her breath evened out again and quiet filtered through the room. Abby checked her phone for calls, even though she knew she hadn't missed anything. It could be a long afternoon, and she hoped Ducky and Gibbs would be back soon. She was shocked neither had called, yet, for an update. "Please don't do anything stupid," she sighed before sinking back into the chair again and reclaiming the remote control to the television.


	5. Chapter 5

_Well, sorry Kiblets, this chapter took longer than I had expected. Life with a great big L got in the way, plus I got stuck here for a bit… until inspiration came down upon me today. Enjoy. Reviews are grand._

"How is she?" Gibbs asked, slipping into the room.

Kate's gaze flickered between her nurse and her boss, thankful when the nurse didn't reply for her. "Better," she replied, plucking at the sheet covering her. She did feel better after a full day and night in the hospital, although this room was still cooler than she liked, and she would feel much more comfortable at home. She could, however, at least be grateful that the nurse had helped her change into a pair of her own sweats and thick socks this morning. "I want to go home."

Gibbs crossed the room and pulled up a chair. "What did your doctor say about that?"

"They'll probably release me later this afternoon. My side still hurts a lot, but that's expected."

"Excuse me, ma'am, can you please look up?"

With scowl, Kate obeyed, looking up as the bright light was directed into her eyes. She blinked in reflex and stared into the light. "Do you know when the doctor will be in today?"

"Pupils are dilating correctly," the nurse noted, clicking off her light and making notes. "Your doctor should be in later this morning. Is there anything else I can get for you in the meantime?"

"Coffee?" she asked hopefully, scowling at Gibbs when he tried to hide a small smile. "Or maybe just four hours of uninterrupted sleep."

The nurse shrugged. "Sorry, ma'am. The night staff was under orders to keep a close eye on you. With the risks of accidental overdose, we can't be too cautious."

"I'm sure you were just doing your job," Gibbs stepped in, to her annoyance. He gave the nurse a look, and Kate could at least appreciate that the woman took the hint and left them in peace.

"Scaring the nurses? You must be feeling better."

Her head shook slightly. "I'm tired of being prodded. You're the one that scares her ... not that I mind," she added when he gave her that look. The look at he gave McGee when he was measuring up the younger agent. "And I hate how that sounds- accidental overdose. I think someone forgot to tell that nurse the accidental part. This isn't going to go on my performance record or anything?" Ever since she had woken up this morning, still tired but far less groggy than the day before, she had been worried how this would be reported.

"Of course not, Kate," Gibbs assured, sliding a little closer. "Idiot doctor gave you the wrong prescription and probably lost his job."

Amber eyes widened. "Gibbs, what did you do?"

"_Me_?" he scoffed. "More like what did Ducky do. I had to stop him from trying to throw a right hook and pursue it with the hospital administration instead." When he caught her look of chagrin, he shook his head, "I don't blame him. You could have been killed."

When she gave him that incredulous look again, he added, "Our agents end up at this place all the time. Ducky's sending out a message that you don't mess up with our people. I get that."

Her lips pursed as she thought over that one. Gibbs had a point, and for all of his flaws, it was something she loved about him- loved about their whole team, really. Even when Tony was at the height of frat boy immaturity, he would defend his team tooth and nail, without hesitation.

"Well, it's over," she finally decided, not wanting to waste any more energy thinking about it. She'd have to find some little thank you for their medical examiner.

Tugging back the blanket, she was sitting up and struggling with the side rail of the bed before he stepped in. "What are you doing?" he asked, resting his hands over hers.

"I want out of this bed." She slipped her hands out from underneath his, trying to ignore the little flush of warmth that had spread over her at the contact. "Come on, you would have left the hospital by now."

He nodded, gently shooing her hands away and lowering the rail. "Yes, but you're smarter than that."

She scowled up at him, though it was half-hearted and she wasn't really irritated by his reply. "You would drag me back in here anyway."

"True." Gibbs tried to offer a hand, which she ignored. It took some effort to shift until her feet slid to reach the floor. She could feel the cold through her socks, but she ignored it. Her sides ached as she straightened, but Kate could only feel supremely proud of herself... for a whole three seconds until she wobbled. His hand was at her elbow instantly, cupping it. "At least sit down."

She nodded toward the padded bench seat in front of the window, no more than two whole feet away. "Over there." Shuffling along slowly now, she quietly thanked him as he helped her into her robe for more warmth and made sure she was settled. "You think it's more than an accidental overdose," she finally spoke up, going for blunt.

He shrugged, obviously trying to dismiss it as unimportant.

"Gibbs," she warned, shifting slightly to better see his face. As much as he tried to hide it, she caught the way his eyes shifted from hers. He wasn't telling her something.

"Ducky's looking into some things. I'm not throwing out accusations."

Her head shook slightly in disagreement. "But you're not denying it, either. What aren't you saying?"

"It's a gut feeling... for now. You have enough to worry about with those ribs, so let it go. Let us look into it."

"It doesn't work that way," Kate protested. "You can't tell me I'm in the middle of this, but not to worry about it. Abby's telling me that I almost died from this overdose. Don't you think I could still be a target? If this is something aimed at me personally, I'm still a target. Even if I wasn't an intentional target, if this is deeper, then I'm a loose end."

When he didn't answer and reached for his coffee cup, realization hit.

She felt stupid for not recognizing it sooner, and the words might as well have been written in stone as she said, "That's why you're here."

"Maybe I just missed you," he tried to tease, and she wished he wouldn't do that- wouldn't try to make light of it. He reached up, pushing back a lock hair and giving her pale cheek a soft rub. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, Katie."

Part of her wanted to push away from him, to get away and just breathe for a while. She was tired, not only from the last few days, but tired of being hunted. In the Secret Service she knew she was always a target by-proxy. If she took a bullet in the line of duty, it was to protect the President, because someone's aim was off, or as a means to get access to the President. Now... she was a target because she was Special Agent Caitlin Todd. "I guess going home- to _my_ place will be out of the question."

"You know it's easier to set up perimeter at a house than at an apartment building."

She knew. And she knew it mean fewer innocent bystanders. "Okay, but you have to deal with my sister when she does her big sister thing. I'm shocked she hasn't called since I've been in here." If he could try to make light of it with humor, she could, too.

Deep blue eyes held hers, and he gave a tight-lipped smile. Gibbs wasn't stupid. He saw her attempt to match his humor for what it was, and she saw in that gaze that he was very worried. "I'll talk to her," he answered, taking her hand in his and giving it a gentle squeeze. "And Kate?"

She swallowed, eyes meeting his again. "Yeah?"

He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, and she wondered for half a second if she was still in some drug-induced haze. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you," he promised a second time.


	6. Chapter 6

_Youtube clips last night from "A guy walked into a bar" inspired the end of the last chapter and this one. If I owned any of this, Season 2 would have ended differently. And to that Gibbs can only reply "Ya think?" Reviews are golden, thank you all so much for all the reviews thus far. They are lovely._

"DiNozzo, update!" Gibbs barked, stepping from the elevator into the bullpen. 

The younger agent's body jerked slightly to attention, and he swiveled in his chair to regard his boss. "Hey, how's Kate-"

"_Update_," he insisted, glaring back.

"Only a handful of complaints, two major inquiries. Both were settled and dismissed, neither determined to be the doctor's fault. One was a patient he lost after a surgery to repair a collapsed lung. They ruled it was complicated by the vic's compromised immune system. The second was a limb that went septic- they had to amputate. Also dismissed as extenuating circumstances, nothing tied back to the doctor or his care."

The silver head shook. "I want-"

"Already had a courier send over the files," Tony replied, lifting a storage box onto his desk. "I read through some of it, but I can't find anything that sticks out."

Gibbs caught the way Tony winced, trying to take some satisfaction in the knowledge that his agent knew the answer was not pleasing. They all wanted to know if this was an accident or not.

"Not enough. There's something here. Send the medical documents to my place- McGee and Ducky are there with Kate. Maybe Ducky will find something. What else did you dig up on Schwartz?"

"The doctor's so clean you could eat off... wait, you wouldn't want to..." Tony verbally backpedaled, scooting out of head-whacking range. "Sorry, boss. Guy's never had a parking ticket, only one write up on his record in the corp- when he was twenty four and was late back to duty because his mother was in the hospital. Everything checked out. Never even filed an extension on his taxes. McGeek's running through his online records, but so far nothing."

It was not the answer Gibbs wanted, either. "Keep looking." He turned, headed for the elevators, clearly finished with the conversation and cold trails.

"Uh, boss?"

He glanced over his shoulder, finally seeing the anxiety in the way DiNozzo was squirming in his seat. "Yeah?"

"Kate?"

As much as the two younger agents squabbled, sometimes reminding him of why he didn't work in child care, they were all family. "She'll be okay. We're gonna-"

"Nail whoever did this." When Gibbs took a moment to regard him, trying not to wonder if his team might go a little too far with unquestioning loyalty, Tony added, "Your gut's as good as gold." With that, Tony plunged himself back into his search engines.

"Are you Special Agent Gibbs?"

Both men turned at the angry tone. Before them was a glaring red head with a guest badge.

"I'm Gibbs," he answered, eyes flickering over the face that looked vaguely familiar... Well, now he knew where Kate got her take-no-prisoners attitude. It must run in the family. "She's not here right now."

"Where the hell is my sister?" Rachel demanded, setting her bag on Tony's desk.

Under normal circumstances, Gibbs would have been very amused at the way the younger man was shifting in his seat, trying to be subtle as he rolled his chair back an inch or so. Of course, under normal circumstances, Kate would be laughing at him and teasing him for letting a woman intimidate him. However, circumstances were anything but normal. He crooked his finger at the woman and began walking toward the elevators, not looking back to see if she was following.

"Where is he going?" she protested. "I want to see Kate-"

"Then I would follow him, if I were you," came DiNozzo's reply.

Only after he stepped into the elevator did Gibbs turn, casually taking a sip of his coffee and pressing the hold button long enough for Rachel to slide into the elevator with him. He maintained his characteristic silence and let the doors finally shut, the car rushing down to the lower floors.

She didn't even wait until the door closed before lighting in. "I want to talk to Kate. I don't understand why no one contacted me about this. No call, nothing. I'm her _family_, and I didn't even get a phone call. What happened to emergency contacts?"

They were all fair questions, and Gibbs had wondered if Kate would call her sister. At the time, he hadn't really questioned Kate about it, since it hadn't seemed to matter. All things considered, the doctor did say there was some short term memory loss, which was hopefully just temporary amnesia. The CAT scan hadn't turned up any brain trauma, but it was possibly psychological.

For now, they recommended that everyone wait and see if Kate's memory of the last few weeks came back by itself and only to worry if it started to upset Kate. It was possible that she remembered calling her sister after the shooting, and since she didn't realize this was more recent... What was more, Kate had spent the morning anxious to be out of the hospital, followed by the lengthy check out, a new mild prescription for pain, and then they had settled her into his place. By the time she finally sat down, she was exhausted and had probably slept the whole two hours since he last saw her.

"Besides that," Rachel plunged in again after barely pausing for a breath, "You're her team leader, and you're strolling through the office sipping coffee, when she's not answering her cell and she's not at her apartment." As the _ding_ signaled that they had arrived, Rachel stepped in front of the door, blocking it with her body. "Where. Is. My. Sister?"

Gibbs slapped at the button to hold the door open, holding it so that the doors wouldn't start to close around the woman blocking them. "She's under protection, and I'll take you to her as soon as I find out if our lab tech has something for me."

"Abby?"

Gibbs nodded, stepping past her as she finally moved out of his way. He was nearly to the lab doors when a tall figure barreled out, running into him and almost knocking both of them over.

He caught Abby's arms, keeping them on their feet.

"Gibbs, you were right," Abby gushed. "The opiates were chemically altered. This wasn't just a bad batch, either. Extra additives see in the report. Kate wasn't just given too much pain medication, she was given laced medication." she waved papers at him, finally stepping back and glancing to her right. "Who is she?"

He glanced quickly through the report, tucking it under his arm to take to Ducky. "Good work, Abs."

The young goth glanced between her boss and the woman who was staring at her.

"Introductions?" she asked uncertainly. "You are?"

Rachel stepped forward, reaching out her hand awkwardly. "Dr. Rachel Cranston."

"Kate's sister," Gibbs summed up neatly.


	7. Chapter 7

_Ack, I thought this would be finished by now, and it keeps getting longer! Well, here we go again, and the plot continues to thicken. Lots of over protective peeps & some vunerable!Kate. As always, thanks so much for all of the wonderful reviews. Also, in case anyone is still confused, I own none of these people except that I made up a random doctor. Some other NCIS friends shall be coming into the plot soon, possibly a chapter or two from now _cue suspenseful end-of-scene-sound-fade-to-black-and-white-still-of-an-agency-car…_

Gibbs sighed in frustration as he exited the interrogation room. A solid two hours of questioning, and nothing would stick. The doctor had insisted he didn't knowing anything about Kate prior to her arrival in his exam room, that he knew nothing about laced medication. What's more, Gibbs believed him. The man wasn't just convincing—nothing in his demeanor indicated that he was covering up. And they had nothing to hold him on.

McGee and Abby were running traces on the companies that supplied the hospital, back tracking medications and batches from the manufacturers. It was a painfully long process, and he hated knowing that the longer it took, the more time the guilty people had to escape, the longer laced medication could be administered to more patients. Already they had found a handful of bad reactions, all likely traced back to the batch. Well, they suspected. There was no real way of proving it, and at least one instance had been fatal. It made his blood run cold.

He grabbed his keys and his weapon, slipping from the office. Two and a half hours ago he took Rachel to his place, knowing it would take DiNozzo a while to locate and bring in the doctor. Part of him wanted Rachel in the other room, to get her to weigh in on the doctor's reactions, but he knew how worried she was about her sister. Rachel wouldn't have been in the right head space to analyze reactions and behavior.

"_How is she… really?" Rachel asked, unable to let the silence fall between them as they slipped into the car._

_He quickly backed out the car and shot into traffic, weaving from lane to lane. "She's tired, she had cracked ribs that didn't heal from the bullet she took to her vest, and she doesn't remember the last three weeks. Nothing between the shooting and then waking up in the hospital yesterday afternoon."_

"_God," Rachel gasped. "Did they run tests to rule out brain trauma?"_

"_CT scan came back fine. They think it's psychological."_

"_Does she know?"_

_He shrugged as he took a hard left and scowled at the honking of a nearby car horn. "I think she does, at least a little. She knows something's not right, but she hasn't put it all together, yet."_

"_That's not like Kate." She gave words to his thoughts. "I don't understand how this happened. You're supposed to take care of your team."_

_The words stung because they were true. He hadn't been able to protect Kate, and he knew full well he could be harder on himself than anyone else could. Still, he felt like he deserved the accusation. _

"_You push her too hard," came the next accusation, thrown as he accelerated onto the highway and quickly worked from one lane to another, passing cars going far too slow for his liking. "Do you know how good she is? How hard she's worked, and what she does? She works so many hours that I never know when to call her. When I do leave messages, sometimes it's days before she has the time to answer—"_

"_I know what's she's capable of, and it's more than she thinks. And more than you know," he answered quietly. "She wants—needs—to be pushed. She needs the challenge."_

"_It's too much," Rachel ground out. "She's been in the hospital twice this month because of this job."_

_The red light at the exit finally forced him to stop. As much as he might cut an 'orange' light, this was solidly red, and he needed to make a left hand turn. He shifted a little to give Rachel a hard look. "She knows the risks of the job. Sometimes I wish she didn't take them, but we all know them. You don't take an Olympic sprinter and tell them to make a six minute mile pace. You push and push and demand more and more. She's not running high school track."_

He stopped briefly for the Chinese take-out that he had ordered before leaving the office. Enough to feed the team, and finally pulled in beside Ducky's car. The rain started as he jogged up and let himself inside, barely missing the downpour.

Ducky greeted him at the door, taking the files and one of the bags of take-out and following him into the kitchen as they pulled out plates and napkins. "You said Abby mentioned the batch was laced?"

"Yeah, it's in the report." He stacked the plates neatly and began to fill the pot for another round of coffee. "I think this is bigger than just Kate. It's really big, and I'm surprised Fornell hasn't dropped in, yet."

Their medical examiner sank into a kitchen chair with the report. One finger tapped anxiously at the paper. "Oh dear… this is a mess."

"What is?"

Gibbs's head lifted at the voice, and he worked to keep his expression neutral. "Hey, Katie. Feeling better?"

"Ribs hurt again," she answered with a scowl.

It was expected with this weather. His knee had started aching a good hour ago, and it seemed to be far more reliable than a barometer or weather forecast. "

"That's because she should take her next round of pain medication," Ducky reminded gently. "She's as stubborn as you, Jethro."

The dark head shook slightly. "I'm taking it." That she was willing to concede that she needed the medicine… that in itself told him that she was really hurting.

"Kate, is there anything I can get you?" Rachel was joining them now, giving Gibbs and the food Ducky was setting out a wary look.

Kate shook her head, taking the tablet that Gibbs offered. He knew she wouldn't be able to manage the effort it would take to unscrew the childproof cap—the pressure and torque on her ribs would hurt a lot. After swallowing down the medicine and taking a few more sips of water, she turned, shifting her feet carefully, making sure not to twist her upper body. "Actually… could you get my hoodie? The oversize one that zips up? I'm a little cold."

Rachel nodded, and with an, "of course," disappeared upstairs.

Once she was out of ear shot, Kate slipped into the chair beside him, carefully taking the box of shrimp and lo mien and taking a small bite. "This is bad, isn't it." It wasn't a question, and she watched him carefully as she took another small bite of dinner.

Gibbs didn't answer at first, not wanting to upset her. He was still trying to judge what state she was in and how much she could handle right now.

"Rachel's scared. She's barely leaving me alone long enough to go pee."

"It's complicated," Gibbs answered. When she set down her chopsticks and tried to formulate a question, he added, "We're working on it. Trust me to take care of this for now."

"I trust you," she answered softly, glancing to the end of the table and gauging how absorbed Ducky was in the reports. "But, Gibbs," she whispered, amber eyes large and her fingers toying nervously with the chopsticks. "I'm… scared."


	8. Chapter 8

_You know the drill—I own not a bit of this (except maybe a psychotic older brother named Daniel Todd). I looooove me some good Kibbs. Hopefully this is sweet and Gibbs-like without ruining it. We strive for believable. Love his soft side for Kate. Did I mention I'm watching the first two seasons again and am using this as a stall tactic to avoid having to watch "Twilight" again? Because I'm totally *not* doing that…_

She crept slowly down the steps, making sure to keep her balance as she traversed the stairs in thick socks. It was somewhere around three in the morning, and her ribs ached just enough to make sleep impossible. While she could have taken another one of her pain meds, Kate was still wary of medicine.

It did not surprise her at all to see a light coming from the basement—she had been expecting that. What _did_ surprise her was the second person down there. Fornell.

For a half moment, she considered eavesdropping, but it was silly. Of course Gibbs knew she was there. Even when she slipped silently to the doorway, as soon as she could see her boss, his gaze was fixed on her. He always knew.

Whatever they were talking about, the conversation ended with her arrival. She watched Fornell lean in and say one last thing to Gibbs, and then he was mounting the stairs. "Good to see you're feeling better, Agent Todd," was his hello and goodbye.

"Thanks," she replied quietly, stepping back and letting him pass.

By the time she carefully turned back again, Gibbs was at the top landing and slid an arm very gently around her shoulders. "Hey, you should be sleeping."

She shook her head. "I slept all afternoon. My sleep schedule is shot… but Rachel's out cold, and I didn't want to keep her up. I couldn't relax enough."

They fell in step, slowly making their way back to the living room. After dinner and another mini nap for her, she had awakened to find all of their extra company gone. It was anyone's guess if McGee was back in the office or if he had been able to go home to sleep. Ducky was gone for the night.

Kate let him settle her on the couch, and she made no pretense of reach for the files sitting there as he started to stack wood in the fireplace. Slowly she thumbed through the information, skimming it and wishing that she was more lucid. Her mind felt freakishly clear, but she knew, in some detached part of her brain, that this was an illusion of the pain medication.

She was engrossed in the papers, trying to make some sense of it. Everything seemed fragmented, and she was on her second perusal when he finally took the file, his hands carefully pulling hers away, disentangling them from the papers. "What does it mean?" she asked, trying her best to find a comfortable spot.

"That's the million dollar question," he replied with a sigh, giving the back of her hand a light caress.

"How about this one… why can't I remember what happened the last few weeks?" she grumbled, letting herself fall into prickly so that she wouldn't have to deal with the sea of emotions lurking under it. She wondered exactly how he would answer that, or if he knew she overheard his conversation with Rachel when they thought she was already asleep.

"_Does she need anything?" he asked in that same calm and controlled way that Kate had always found comforting, especially at the particularly hard crime scenes. Even hearing the tone, muffled through the door, made her relax a little more._

"_A lot of rest and no more upsets. She's dealing with a lot of trauma."_

"_Do you agree with the doctor's assessment?"_

"_She's scared, not that I blame her," Rachel replied. "But I agree that the amnesia is probably psychological and most likely transient. Her memories of the last weeks could come back gradually or all at once. I hope, for her sake, that it's gradual."_

_When Gibbs didn't reply, at least not that Kate could hear, she shifted again in the guest bed, trying to settle how she felt. _

"_How safe is she here—really?"_

_It made Kate smile the tiniest bit. Her big sister had tried her best to defend Kate, the baby of the family and the only other girl, when Kate was small. But by the time she was four, her older brothers would tease her about being a cry baby, and she had decided to stand up for herself there after. When Daniel, Todd child #3, threw her favorite stuffed animal in the backyard for their family dog to chew apart, Rachel used her privilege as second mother in the house and made him buy her a new rabbit with his allowance money. Five year old Kate had taken the stuffed rabbit and thrown it in the trashcan in her sister's room with an indignant, "Nobody asked you for it. I don't want your stupid bunny!"_

_She'd secretly adopted a stuffed teddy bear instead, carefully tucking it into the depths of her closet each morning so that her brothers wouldn't mess with it._

"You'll remember everything eventually," Gibbs answered smoothly, and she let herself be comforted by the assurance he offered.

The fire was building now, filling the room with its warmth. Kate could almost convince herself that this was any other night when she couldn't sleep. Except if she ever did contact Gibbs on those nights, it was to talk. Only a few times had she stayed all night at his place, always in the basement, and always ending with her waking up tucked into the couch with a warm blanket over her. "How many fights have you and Rachel had?" she asked quietly.

"None," came his succinct reply. When she gave him a skeptical look, he answered, "They were discussions, and you're still here, aren't you."

It made her smile a little. "She asked about you. If there's something between us."

When he gave her the self-satisfied grin that she usually associated with Tony, Kate snorted. She regretted it, wincing at the way it pulled on her sides. "I didn't really hear what she said, but she claims it's Freudian."

"You know," Gibbs grumbled, stretching his legs out and sinking back into the couch, his leg nearly touching hers. "I think the only one obsessed about sex was Freud."

She couldn't help but laugh, groaning in protest a half moment later. "Please… don't make me laugh." When she turned her head, she was surprised to see him leaning in close, his forehead resting against hers.

"I love your laugh, Katie."

The words warmed her through, and she barely felt the strain when he shifted her, as carefully as possible, until she was resting against his shoulder. "It's about to get bad, isn't it, Gibbs."

He nodded silently. "This is big. As far as Mossad and Hamas are concerned, things didn't end with Ari's death." His hand slid gently along her forearm, as though gauging if she was up to hearing all of this. For a fleeting moment, Kate wondered how classified it was, though she was thankful that he was finally giving her the benefit of the doubt. It was her life, afterall, that was at risk. She deserved to know.

"FBI, CIA… everyone is getting a spoon in the pot. There are a lot of empty patches in the story."

She honestly had nothing to say to this. Kate let herself still, the weight of it hitting her at last. Her hand searched for his, taking the fingers that were still unconsciously stroking her hand and tangling the fingers together.

"You should go back to sleep," he murmured finally, his lips moving against the top of her head, each word like a kiss.

"Not sleepy, yet," she murmured, drifting but unwilling to move.

With his free hand, he lifted the file into his lap and opened it. "Try to relax, then. You're with me tomorrow. From now on, you're either with me or at NCIS."

"If you wanted a date, you could try just asking," she mumbled, working to suppress a yawn, her eyes sliding shut.

"Relax," he rumbled, voice going deeper and quiet. "Goodnight, Kate."


	9. Chapter 9

_I own nothing NCIS related, as usual. This story is turning quite a few ways that I did not expect, but it's fun. Enjoy reading, reviews are wonderful._

Kate rounded the bull pen, her appreciation at being back at NCIS short lived as she spotted the person sitting at her desk. "Who is that?" she asked, eyes narrowing at the dark-haired woman and glancing between Tony, who was busy tapping away at his computer, and Gibbs at her side.

"Ziva David," the woman replied, her voice matter-of-fact. "And you are Special Agent Caitlin Todd."

Amber eyes narrowed, and Kate stepped in front of her desk and to the side, still eyeing the woman. "It's 'Kate' to my friends, but we'll stick with 'Special Agent Todd' for now."

"Well now you sound like your old self, Kate," DiNozzo piped up. "And Ziva was Ari's control officer. Mossad."

"Some control," Kate muttered. "What are you doing at my desk?"

"She's helping us with some information. She has certain contacts that we don't," Gibbs replied. "Come on, Kate, we've got the conference room set up. Rachel's up there working on some profiling—you should worry about that for now."

Kate glared between the woman who was giving her an extremely smug look and Gibbs who gave her a sympathetic look before he nodded toward the elevators. She grabbed her favorite pen and her extra PDA charger before following her boss with a glare over her shoulder.

"That is okay, you did not much like me the first time we met," the Israeli called with a smirk.

Kate trudged into the elevator, turning to Gibbs as the doors slid shut. "Any other surprises from the last few weeks that I don't remember?"

His lips pressed into a line, and he gave a sigh, reaching for the button for the next floor. "Just the director," he admitted.

Her brows furrowed, and she turned to face him fully. "What about him?"

"Her."

"Wha…" Her head shook as though she was trying to clear it. "The director, he's… what?"

"Moved on, Kate. Homeland Security," Gibbs answered, a shadow of a smile crossing his lips. "What did you think Morrow became a she?"

"That's not… no," she sputtered, waving the thought away. "I wasn't sure… So who is the new director?"

"Jenny Shepard."

Kate's eyes narrowed again. There was something—a lot of something he wasn't saying. The bell dinged and the doors opened to a nearly empty hallway. "Gibbs?" When he didn't say anything she prodded, "That's all? A little help here?"

"Jenny and I go back. It's past history. She's trying to draw a hard line from the start. She and Officer David know each other, outside of all of this."

"That's all you know?" she asked as they moved down the hall and reached the conference call. Her stomach knotted a little, wondering what exactly he meant by _past __history_ with their new director. From his body language, it wasn't hard to guess that he meant something besides just professional. If it had been professional at all. But this new revelation about a new director having connections to Mossad… it unnerved her.

He motioned her into the conference room, greeting Rachel, who was up to her elbows in files. Gibbs motioned to the stack of files at the other end of the table. "Start here. I want to know what we can find about Office David, and I want you to see what you can dig up on her and the director."

"And you're working on?" she asked, not surprised when he gave her the look. The look that said he would tell her what she needed to know when she needed to know it—not before. His glance in the direction of her sister told her that he might have mentioned more if they didn't have an audience.

She slid the first folder in front of her and flipped open the dossier.

Gibbs set a bottle of water in front of her and leaned in, his lips nearly brushing her left ear. "Promise me you won't leave this room."

The warm breath against her skin made her breath catch. It was throwing her off, and she had been thrown off enough lately. Not remember the past few weeks, still hazy about how she ened up in the hospital. The growing and increasingly undefined _something_ between her and the man beside her. Not to mention that between him and Rachel, she felt like a bug under a microscope. Everyone was watching... and she wasn't safe, not even here. She hated being reminded of that. "And if I have to use the head? Do I page you for permission."

"Yep," he answered succinctly.

Her nose wrinkled. "Gibbs," she muttered.

"This place isn't as secure as we wish it was. Promise me, or I stick to your six all day."

Kate had tried being pissed, and she couldn't out-grouch him. She knew he was fully aware of the effect he had when his lips were still this close to her ear. If he was going to rattle her, she would try returning the favor. Glancing across the room to her sister, she knew that even if Rachel seemed engrossed in the files, her sister probably hadn't missed a bit of the body language between them. "And that's a threat because…" she trailed off with a little smirk.

"Agent Todd," he growled low. "I _will_ post Tony as your babysitter."

Her nose wrinkled at the though. "Fine," she hissed. "I promise to page if I need to leave the room. You better remember to feed me at lunch today."

"You have your weapon?" he asked, even though she was sure he already knew the answer.

She nodded toward her side. "I didn't take it off- too much moving to get it off and have to put it back on again," she replied quietly.

He nodded. "Good, keep it close." He took a sip of his coffee and nodded toward her stack. "It's a lot, but there's something there, Kate. I probably shouldn't even have you on this, but you two and Ducky are the only ones I trust to go through it."


	10. Chapter 10

_It's been a bit since an update—sorry about that, life happened. Plus I have Kate's cold of horrors. Anyway, obviously I own nothing except perhaps a practically psychotic middle Todd brother, who I mentioned in passing earlier and to whom I'm not particularly attached._

Kate was aware of the woman as soon as she stepped into the room, but the younger woman continued to read the page in front of her, not stopping until she reached the end of the page. For several long moments, silence stretched between them, the red head finally approaching and stopping about two feet away. "Can I help you?" Kate asked, closing the folder and sliding it to the stack on her far right.

The director's mouth pressed into a thin line, her head tilting _slightly_ as she considered. "May I?" she asked, gesturing to one of the many empty chairs.

"You're the director," Kate answered with a small shrug.

Jenny Shepard pulled out the chair and took a seat, her hands folded neatly. "How are you feeling, Agent Todd?"

It was interesting, from a psychological stand point, to watch and listen to people when they were facing an awkward situation. It seemed their new director preferred to take the round about route. She was definitely the type to watch, assess, and take measured actions.

"I've been better, director," Kate replied, following the woman's lead. "I'm sure you've heard the details."

The woman gave a slight nod. "May I be frank?"

Now this shift in the conversation was interesting. Kate gestured with her open hand before taking up her water bottle. "Please." She took a sip of water, noticing out of the corner of her eye that someone else had joined them, his solid frame filling the doorway, unseen to the director.

"I know Agent Gibbs likes to look at everything, but if you want information about me, I would rather you ask."

Kate could see Gibbs at the door, trying for casual as he leaned in. Her focus, however, was on the woman in front of her and the even tone of the words. The frankness, actually, made the new director uncomfortable, but Kate was sure that Shepard would rather have it all out at once than have it dragged out bit by bit. There was also something about the way she said _Agent__Gibbs_, as though the word was distant and not wholly familiar. It made Kate curious what other names the woman had uses to address her boss.

For now, the younger woman decided that she would continue to match Shepard point for point. She shifted a little in her chair, flinching slightly as the change in position made her suddenly aware of the residual ache in her sides. "Alright, then what is your connection with Agent David?"

Shepard motioned to the files. "I'm sure you've already read, but I worked very closely with Ziva in Cairo. She was an invaluable source of information and taught me a great deal about the Mossad and how it works, the ins and outs. She also had a great deal of insight into Hamas."

"Did you realize she was Haswari's control officer?" Kate was the one being careful not, refusing to mention the man by his first name. It was too familiar for someone who had tried to shoot her.

"No," Shepard answered, shifting to uncross her legs. The open gesture did not escape the profiler's notice. The answer was honest. "But you should know another connection, one that you were told after your first injury, but I've heard about the memory… issues." She straightened a little, pausing a moment before continuing. "Ari Haswari was—"

"David's half brother," Gibbs finally spoke up from the doorway, stepping fully into the room as Shepard turned, her expression a bit indignant.

Kate's mouth fell open at the news, and she closed it quickly, swallowing. She used her feet to push her chair back slightly, the twinge of pain only serving to amp up her frustration. "When were you going to remind me about that?"

The blue eyes met hers, piercing for a moment before he turned to Jenny. Kate knew the answer—_when__you__needed__to__know_. "They need you in MTAC."

Shepard shifted slightly, scowling at him. "Convenient," was her only reply before turning and leaving them.

He held up the brown paper sack, handing it over. "Lunch as promised." Glancing around the empty room, he asked, "Where is your sister?"

"She went for a walk," Kate replied taking the sack and opening it to see two wraps, cookies, and chips. "Wait," she added as he started to turn, "Where are you going?"

"Following a lead," he answered vaguely.

She stepped around him, standing between him and the door. It had his attention, even if moving that fast made her breath catch and everything ache. _Stupid__ribs._ "Gibbs, come on, you can't keep me locked up here. Let me go with you. _Please_? I promise to stay in the car."

His head shook. "No. This is the safest place. Unless…"

"Unless?" she asked hopefully. Anything had to be better than this.

"Safe house. It's not a good idea, though," he quickly added, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Why isn't a safe house a good idea?" she pressed, confused. Safe houses were the ultimate in protection—private, tucked away, little known. Every agency had their own safe houses, and she had spent time in a few during her years in Secret Service.

"Because we don't know if there's a leak."

Her head shook slightly. "You mean because you wouldn't be there."

His gaze met hers, and while he wasn't agreeing, he wasn't denying it, either. His gaze drifted off to the side, lost in though for a moment.

Kate took the opportunity to pull out her wrap and take a few tentative bites. Turkey and cheddar. An acceptable choice. She managed the first third before pressing. "Gibbs?"

He turned his attention back to her now, shifting his weight evenly across both feet. "How do you feel about Mexico?"

"Huh? Like… Cancun or Cozumel?"

"More old school. I know a place I could send you, someone I would trust to cover you."

Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she toyed with the food in her hand as her mind raced. This was definitely _not_ like Secret Service. Kate was fast realizing that while she loved her jobs, she did not at all like being the one to be protected. She preferred facing a threat with tactics and a weapon instead of hiding and waiting. "Do we have anything?"

His gaze strayed, and he shrugged with forced casualness. "I'm working on that. Think about Mexico, but don't say anything—not even to Rachel or Abby. Keep digging, I'll be back," he answered, stepping around her.

"When?" Kate called after him.

"Soon! Stay there!" was his only reply before going down the hall and taking the first hall at a fast pace.

Kate cursed and threw her chips on the floor in frustration. She turned, huffing in anger and realizing that it wasn't doing her ribs any favors. When she decided she had acted enough like a four year old, she tried to bend and reach the chips, only to hiss as the motion caused her side to pull too much. With another curse, she kicked the bag to the corner and stalked to the table to eat the rest of her lunch. Rachel could pick up the bag later.

_To__Franks__or__not__to__Franks,_that_is__the__question__…_


	11. Chapter 11

_Woo-hoo, some really good decongestants later, and suddenly I can think and write without my head all clouded up. Enjoy, faithful readers! Your comments encourage me. And the plot begins to take off…_

Jenny knew her Hebrew was rusty, but she was surprised at exactly how rusty it had become. She always struggled with the grammar, but she was missing entire phrases at a time. Silently, she blamed lack of use and the rapid, not to mention very heated, flow of words between Ziva and the Mossad leader.

"_Hashem __Yikom __Damo._I expect a conclusive answer, Agent David," the elder David finally exclaimed. "By the time the sun sets in Tel-Aviv.

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. "You will have your answers." The connection ended abruptly, the Israeli turning on her heel and muttering, "But they may not be the answers you desire."

For several moments, Jenny watched Ziva pace, experience having taught her that sometimes the younger woman needed her space. She was certainly much easier to work with than the elder David. Even when Ziva could not give her the information she needed, Ziva always admitted _I __cannot __tell __you __what __you __wish __to __know._

The dark haired woman finally turned back toward the director and closed the distance between them, stepped to the other side of the room and out of ear-shot of those monitoring screens and electronics. She sighed and looked like she wanted to spend a good hour at a firing range. "Years without so much as touching Torah, and suddenly he acts as though he is _Ba__'__al__Teshuvah._"

Jenny shrugged, shifting awkwardly. "You know his reasons." It wouldn't have been the first time that a crisis, particularly loss of a child, brought a parent closer to faith. Sometimes Jenny remembered the occasional Shepard family excursions to church. It had been her mother's thing more than her father's. She still believed distantly in God, no doubt that was ingrained in her on some nurture-level. "Does he doubt your investigation?"

She gave a slight shift of her head that was neither a nod nor a shake. "My father trusts his own self. Much like your Agent Gibbs and his ability to… know things. To believe things to be true or not to be true."

"_My_ Agent Gibbs?" Jenny answered, skeptical.

Dark eyes stared into hers for a piercing moment. "There is history. No need to deny it. We are adults, and things do happen."

Ziva had always been very good at reading people. Jenny gave the slightest nod to acknowledge the reply. "So what does David believe about all of this?"

"He is still unconvinced that Ari went rogue. I am sure, I need no more proof. In time, I believe he will understand and will come to the same conclusions. But what will happen in the meantime… That I do not know."

The quiet of the room settled between them, only a distant hum of electronics and muted clacking of keys interrupted it until Ziva added, her voice more hushed than ever. "Ari had many connections, and his cover with Al-Qaeda held to the end. He has powerful people that will not like the connection to NCIS. I believe some may have made the connection particularly to Agent Todd, and like Agent Gibbs, I do not think the hospital mix up was purely accidental. She is not safe here, and you know she may not be safe anywhere."

Jenny shifted her weight from one foot to the other, eyes studying maps behind them currently monitoring suspicious movement in the Khyber Mountains. "Thank you, Ziva." She turned, escorting the woman from the room. Once Ziva was down the steps to the bullpen, Jenny's gaze raked over the people below.

DiNozzo and McGee were busy at work: the first in the middle of what looked like a very long and intense phone call, the latter clacking furiously at his computer. Below her, under the walkway, she could hear the ding of the elevator. The silver head appeared a moment later, and as though he could sense her watching, blue eyes lifted to hers.

The slightest nod was all she had to give. _Go_, she ordered silently, knowing Gibbs would go to any lengths to protect his team, particularly this woman that Jenny knew was more than just a prodigy to him. This morning when he had mentioned extraction, her answer had been simple: _do __what __you __have __to._ He would have done it anyway, and it was easier to give her blessing. She hadn't bothered to ask where he would take Agent Todd. The fewer people that knew, the better protected she would be.

NCIS ** NCIS ** NCIS ** NCIS ** NCIS.

"Cold?" he asked, rubbing a hand along her arm that was currently starting to sport goosebumps.

"Yeah," Kate sighed, reaching up and rubbing her face before settling back into a very cushy leather seat. Leather that was cold. She knew she should be extremely grateful that it wasn't a Navy transport. That he was here with her, at least for this part of the journey. Kate didn't dare ask if Gibbs would be staying with her or where they were going. Mexico, she assumed, was the answer. In time she would find out if it was true.

"_Kate, ready to take a break?"_

_His words were a ray of hope, and she barely remembered her ribs in time, stopping herself from jumping up from the couch. "Yes! Just give me a minute, let me swing by the head first."_

_He had played cool and casual, strolling along beside her, leaning against the wall with his minimally patient expression plastered across his face. Gibbs merely sipped his coffee, waiting for her return before steering her towards the elevators and to evidence storage._

_She __hadn__'__t __really __cared _where _they __were __going, __so __long __as __it __got __her __out __of __the __room __she __had been __waiting __in __for __almost __ten __hours __now. __Talking __had __never __been __his __strong __point, __and __she __hadn__'__t __questioned __it __when __he __nodded __toward __a __non-descript __agency __vehicle __and __told __her __to __climb __in. __If __she __was __lucky, __she __would __get __to __go __on __a __field__trip, __and __at __worst __it __was __to __return __her __back __to __his __place. __Either __way, __it __was __away._

Away was certainly what she got. Kate knew something was up as soon as he turned north and began heading away from DC, away from his place, away from NCIS. Only when they pulled off onto a state highway that had turned into one lane in each direction and pastures lining the sides did she ask. _"__Gibbs, __where __are __we __going?__"_

_Extraction,_ was the answer, and it was all he had needed to say.

"Kate?"

She blinked and turned her head, surprise by the deep blue eyes mere inches from hers. "Huh?" Her face colored slightly, and she hated the way she was shaking, partly from the cold and partly from tiredness and stress. Her cell phone was gone, no doubt he had slipped it from her pocket and left it behind. It was traceable, and extraction meant _extraction_. Few things came with you.

Only a lone duffle bag of her things, the one Abby had brought to Gibbs's place, was with her. And her Sig Sauer. At least some one comfort item remained, and she sincerely hoped her security team at wherever he was taking her would let her keep it. Or they had better be prepared for the first glints of hostility from their charge.

"You okay? You should take your meds—I know the altitude doesn't help."

"Thanks," she replied, not bothering to answer his first question. No, she definitely was _not_ alright, but she took the pill and swallowed several big mouthfuls of water, letting him take the bottle and tuck the plush blanket around her as she stretched out on the sofa-like seat. Her head sank to the pillow near his thigh. "Rachel's going to be pissed."

Gibbs nodded, his fingers tugging the blanket around her shoulder before resting his hand there. "She'll understand."

Kate took a slow breath, her body relaxing. She might as well sleep—there was little else to do except try to keep up most of the conversation herself. "I wish I could have said goodbye to Abby." When he started to give her that look, Kate shrugged. "I know. I _know_. I know why I couldn't… I'm just saying it would have been nice. Give her a hug for me… if she doesn't kill you."

"I will," he promised. He leaned down intentionally, brushing a light kiss against her cheek.

_Nope, I don't speak more than maybe three or four Hebrew words. I know maybe like three phrases, but that's what internet and research is all about… if you speak Hebrew and I'm totally off, please tell me! Here's what my researching found, translations for those who are curious…_

_Hashem __Yikom __Damo-_ means "Hashem will avenge his blood"

_Ba__'__al __Teshuvah-_ refers to a penitent Jew returning to traditional worship


	12. Chapter 12

_And __the __fun __continues__… __they__'__re __on __their __road __to__—__haha, __yeah, __you __have __to __read __to __find __out. __The __plot __treads __on__… __wow, __this __is __a __lot __longer __than __I __thought. __Reviews __have __been __wonderful __so __far, __thank __you __to __everyone __who __takes __the __time __to __write __one. __I __might __own __Sarah __Braden __Hoffman, __but __that__'__s __about __it. Sorry about having to repost, the italics HATE me. For some reason they keep running together when I upload. irritating... but it's fixed now... And apparently this is much longer than previous chapters..._

They were on yet another state highway, a mere two lane road, and Kate hadn't bothered to ask what state they were in. Yesterday had passed in a blur of flights from north, out west, and then ... somewhere they had landed in the middle of the night on a military field coming off of a plane that had been barely a step up from the transports. Gibbs had quickly ushered her into a waiting car, driving half an hour into the dark night before stopping at a motel and checking in for the night.

Their room had been clean enough to pass for "adequate," and all she could think about was falling asleep when he pulled out a shopping sack and emptied it onto the bed, handing over a box of hair dye. Medium brown. Common and nothing like her currently dark auburn. It had been an ordeal, and despite his help it had hurt like hell trying to bend over the tub while he rinsed out the dye. When Gibbs finally left her to shower, she was aching and exhausted. Before she'd crawled into the bed she noted the time. 0417.

Farmland was passing by now, and her gaze strayed to the man driving. He wasn't flying down the highway like he usually did. So far they had passed a total of three horse-drawn buggies, and she assumed he didn't want to get held up by a wreck. Much less an investigation into vehicular manslaughter.

_"Kate? __Time __to __wake __up." __The __voice __was __insistent, __a __warm __hand __cupping __her __shoulder._

_Her __eyes __had __that __grainy __feeling, __letting __her __know __before __she __even __opened __them __that __she __had __not __slept __for __as __long __as __she __would __have __liked. __With __a __grumble, __her __eyes __cracked __open, __blinking __in __surprise __at __the __sunlight __streaming __through __the __thin __curtains. __A __glance __to __the __bedside __told __her __it __was __0938. __Just __over __five __hours __of __sleep __wasn't __enough, __but __it __would __have __to __do. __For __half __a __moment, __she __wondered __if __he __had __slept __beside __her __all __night- __she __certainly __hadn't __felt __the __bed __shift __if __he __did- __or __if __he __had __tried __to __fold __himself __into __the __chair __in __the __corner ... __or __if __he __simply __stayed __awake __all __night.__  
><em>

_Gibbs, __God __bless __him, __remained __silent __while __she __trudged __to __the __bathroom __in __the __over__sized __shirt. __Only __after __she __took __care __of __her __needs __and __washed __her __hands __did __she __notice __the __uniform __hanging on the back of the door__. __Olive __gray, __the __Captain's __uniform. __"Um...__Gibbs?"_

_"Everything __okay?" __he __asked __quickly, __and __it __made __her __quirk __a __smile __for __the __first __time __in __at __least __12 __hours._

_"Sort __of..." __Through __the __door __she __could __imagine __him __scowling __and __was __anticipating __the __question _'which is it? yes or no?'. _"I __can't __bring __my __arm __up __to __salute, __and __you __set __out __this __uniform..."_

_"Get __on __as __much __of __that __uniform __as __you __can. __We're __catching __a __ride __after __lunch. __Don't __worry __about __saluting."_

_Her __mouth __had __opened __to __protest, __but __she __thought __better __of __it __and __managed __to __get __into __the __skirt __and __top. __Once __she __looked __halfway __together, __she __opened __the __door __to __see __tha t__he __was __sitting __in __the __lone __chair __in __the __corner, __reading __the __paper __and __drinking __his __morning __coffee. __"Did __you __remember __regs __for __hair?"_

_His __eyebrows __lifted, __and __she __couldn't __help __but __feel __a __tiny __bit __of __satisfaction __in __realizing __that __no, __he __had __not.__"Start __with __the __collar."_

_She __handed __it __over __dutifully,__ standing stock-__still __as __he __checked __her __ribbons __and __fixed __the __collar __just __so. __When __he __was __satisfied __with __their __placement, __he __finally __took __the __brush __she __was __holding __and __the __band __she __offered. __"Gibbs, __do __you-" __She __glanced __in __the __mirror __and __dropped __the __rest __of __the __sentence __when __his __eyes __met __hers. __Okay, __he __knew __enough __of __what __he __was __doing __to __make __it __passable. __Worst __case, __she __could __cover __it __up __with __the __hat- __the _cover_, __she __corrected __herself __mentally._

_The __hairbrush __passing __through __her __hair __was __strangely __relaxing, __and __she __felt __the __edge __wear __off __her __nerves __as __he __gathered __the __strands __at __the __nape __of __her __neck __and __tied __them __off. __His __hands __gently __took __the __ponytail __and __after __only __one __false __start, __he __began __to __twist __it._

_Kate __knew __she __should __let __well __enough __alone, __but __she __couldn't __help __but __comment, __"You've __done __this __before."_

_"Yeah," __he __answered __quietly._

_Sometimes __if __they __didn't __press, __he __would __elaborate. __She __breathed __slowly, __handing __over __a __bobby__pin __when __he __asked __for __it. __"I've __been __married __a __few __times, __Kate." __There __was __more __to __it __than __that, __and __when __he __tucked __in __the __last __pin, __their __eyes __met __again __in __the __mirror. __"I __had __a __daughter, __too. __Kelly. __She __always __wanted __me __to __help __her. __I __learned __fast."_

_The __frankness __took __her __by __surprise, __and __she __couldn't __help __but __sit __there __in __shock. __He __had __a __daughter. __Had. __It __seemed __trivial, __but __she __meant __every __word __when __she __answered, __"You __were __a __great __dad."_

_Nothing __else __was __said __while __they __collected __their __things __and __packed __up __what __little __they __had __out __from __the __night __before. __Just __before __they __left, __he __pulled __out __a __sling __and __slipped __it __around __her, __easing __her __right __arm __into __it. __Grabbing __both __of __their __bags, __Gibbs __gave __her __a __nod __of __approval. __"No __saluting __today."_

When they passed the sixth Amish buggy, Kate finally turned to him. "I'm not sure I'm going to pass for Amish."

It made the corner of his mouth curl up into a smile. "Good thing you're not passing for Amish." He reached down between his seat and the console, working loose a file and handing it over to her.

Kate flipped open the cover and began reading. Sarah Jane (Braden) Hoffman, DOB: 07/24/1976, 5'7", 120lbs... "I don't weigh 120 pounds," she scowled, frowning when the edge of his mouth twitched into a wider smile. "You should know to lie about weight when it comes to women. Every woman lies by about ten pounds, and everyone else mentally adds at least fifteen to the weight. That has to be a rule."

"Has to be," he dead panned, taking the exit onto yet another highway.

Her gaze dropped to the pages in front of her. "Abby had field day with this one. Separated from Daniel Hoffman, has domestic violence calls for two recent incidents and a long list of doctor and hospital visits to support... God, she didn't miss a single injury in the last year." Every one of Kate's minor and major mishaps over the last year and a half were in her medical records, along with doctor's notes suggesting the possibility of domestic violence. Anyone glancing at this case would see that Sarah Hoffman had a rough life. It was no wonder she had disappeared, and it would explain away the rib injuries if Kate needed to check in with a local doctor. "So where am I going?"

Gibbs took the highway exit before them, heading into the sunset and straight into what looked like small town America, circa 1950. He had slowed to a downright sluggish pace, driving past a train station- a good to honest train station.

Two minute ago, Kate would have sworn that train stations like this were extinct. The only ones she had seen were Amtrack or Els, subways... nothing like this. "You brought me to Mayberry?"

In the coming twilight, she almost missed his smile and almost silent chuckle. "I promise you that Stillwater isn't Mayberry." He crept off of the main street, taking a back alley and parked behind a store. Reaching behind him, he pulled out a ball cap and slipped it over his silvering hair before slipping from the car and striding quickly to a backdoor.

Knowing better than to ask anything else for now, Kate was thankful she wasn't still wearing the Marine uniform, ditched hours ago after the transport. She slipped from the car, hand unconsciously sliding against her waist and finding the comfort of her Sig and its holster.

Stepping through the door he was holding for her, she blinked, eyes adjusting to the dimness of a back stock room. Pallets of food lined walls and were sorted neatly on metal shelving.

"Sarah?"

The second time he said the name, Gibbs's hand settled on her shoulder, making her start. She glanced up at him, catching the intense look he gave her. _Sarah...__right._ "Sorry, I-" She cut off a moment later, catching sight of an older man standing in the doorway. He had a kind smile, and she instantly relaxed under his gaze.

"Jackson Gibbs," the man said, stepping forward slowly and offering his hand.

Kate barely- just barely- kept her jaw from dropping in surprise. _Gibbs? __Gibbs! __Would __it __have __killed __him __to __mention __that __sometime __in __the __last __twenty __hours? _Schooling her features, and barely catching the glimmer of satisfaction in surprising her that registered in Gibbs's eyes, she took the offered hand. She shook it awkwardly, grateful that while his grip was firm, it didn't pull on her arm and side muscles. "Sarah Braden," she answered automatically, catching the little eyebrow lift from Gibbs over her choice of last name. She could play his game, although he still had a definite edge.

"Come on this way, I'm just closing up for the night," he urged them into the main part of the store. It didn't escape Kate's notice that Gibbs stepped in front of her, sweeping the room for a moment before stepping aside to let her through. "Don't worry, we'll lock up here and head over to the house for the night. I won't make you crash in a cot in the stockroom."

Kate shook her head slightly, eyes roaming the room. The Secret Service agent in her was already calculating the number of steps to exits, possible barriers to escape, and the liabilities of windows, their angles and views. "I'll be fine on a cot or anything else. I appreciate this, Mr. Gibbs."

"It's Jackson," the elder Gibbs instantly corrected. "I have some soup at the house- it's nothing fancy, but it sticks to the ribs." He locked the door from the inside, checked the safe, and led them through to the stockroom again. "L.J., you staying to eat?"

"No, I'm about to hit the road," Gibbs replied, his brow wrinkling at the nickname.

_L.J._ It fit him, at least in Kate's mind it fit better than either LeRoy or Jethro. Ducky was one of the very few people she ever heard use their boss's given name. 'Gibbs' seemed to say it all, and for a while on the job she had not once considered what his first name might be, much less the middle. But L.J... she liked it.

Jackson glanced between the pair before giving his keys a little jingle. "I'll just grab Sarah's bag and wait in the car. Pull the door shut on your way out and check it."

"Got it," Gibbs replied with all of the irritation of a harried teenager. When his father gave him a look, he nodded. "I got it."

It almost made her laugh. Almost. Suddenly faced with the prospect of his departure, she feel uneasy for the first time in a while. Antsy. Her fingers toyed with her jacket sleeve. "I'll be fine," she said, trying for bravado.

"Kate, you need me for anything, press this," he said, flipping open a cellphone and showing her the contacts. Only two numbers were listed, one as '911' and the second as 'Dispatch.' "911 is a panic line, and we'll have someone here for extraction. You know when to use it. Dispatch puts you straight to me." He dropped the phone into her hand, closing her fingers around it. "Trust your gut. If it feels wrong, make the call."

She nodded and swallowed. "I know."

"Yeah, I know." He pulled her to him for a long moment, arms banding tightly around her.

It pressed on her sides, and but she simply buried her face into his chest. It felt safe here, and she hated the parts of her that were at war with one another- one side insisting she was a high trained federal agent who could handle this with the side that was a hunted target who wanted him to stay. After a long moment, his arms relaxed enough for him to lean down a press a warm kiss to the edge of her lips. Her stomach fluttered a moment when it registered that this was much more than the good-job kisses he sometimes pressed to Abby's cheek.

"Be careful." He was stalling now, for another moment, and it was making it harder for her to say goodbye. "Keep your gun concealed and on you. That phone goes everywhere with you."

"I will be, and I promise," she replied softly, giving a short nod. It was enough to let him know she was ready, and he dropped a protective arm around her shoulders, steering her out and to his father's car. No other words were needed, and she pretended not to hear the hushed conversation as Gibbs said goodbye to the elder man.

The wind was just right to bring the words through the open door and to her ears. "...Anything comes up with Sarah, call me right away... not going to lose her, too. The less you know about it, the safer..."


	13. Chapter 13

_And yet another chapter that didn't get as far as I thought! Aaah! I can't even believe I have 13 chapters up. More to come… thanks to all who have left feedback. It's so encouraging. I own only student loans, not these characters._

"DiNozzo. Answers. Now," Gibbs barked, taking a drink of his coffee as he came to a stop in front of his second's desk. Sharp eyes caught the way McGee jerked in his chair, straightening as even Ziva flinched slightly.

Tony flipped open the file before him. "Probie, the screen," he called. As an image of two Middle Eastern men flickered onto the large screen before them, he started to speak. "Mohammad Al-Assar and Nassir Subrinka. Both were Haswari's links into Al-Qaeda, both are wanted by FBI, NSA, and pretty much every government agency both in America and the EU. All that I could find on Subrinka was a link to several experimental labs in Syria, but my clearance wouldn't get me anything else. It's all tied up in CIA."

Gibbs cursed silently, hating where this was going. For half a moment, he considered the merits of leaving the country altogether with Kate. Sure, he would miss his team, which he would admit privately were like family to him. Still, he did not have very many reservations about leaving. Somehow, he suspected Kate would. "What sort of labs?"

"Everything from biomedical weapons on down the chain, boss," DiNozzo answered, leaning back slightly as though he anticipated a head-slap. "Some of their labs have been shut down internationally, but Syria's hard to get into, and they are really good at moving things, making it hard to track locations."

He muttered a string of words this time, scooping up his phone and punching the numbers by memory. "Abby, run full tests on that sample again. I want any known pathogens, viruses, the works. McGee's going to help you," he barked, a single finger jabbing at the elevators was enough for his younger agent to scramble to his feet and take off for the elevator bay. "Let me know the second you have answers, call Ducky up if you find anything." Before a word could be said, he slammed down the phone again. "What else?"

"Uh, Al-Assar's got his own write up, lots of suspicion that he's a double agent, ties to Mossad and Al-Qaeda, but not enough to pin him down solidly to either." Tony turned slightly, glaring at the woman leaning against the extra desk, her look watchful and cautious. "Officer David, feel free to step in any time here."

Ziva straightened, giving him a hard look. "Mossad already has operatives looking into Al-Assar's more recent activities. I will tell you what you need to know when I am able to."

"You should work for CIA with talk like that," Tony grumbled, returning her fierce look.

For half a moment Gibbs wondered which was worse: DiNozzo's disagreements with Kate or this brewing one with Ziva David. On the one hand, he had seen - and been damn proud- of the way Kate handled McGee when they did combat training. She threw a mean elbow, too, and she had pinned DiNozzo before. On the other hand, David was a trained assassin. She could easily kill him with a few movements that would be nothing but pure reflex for her. His gaze flickered to the next level up and a certain red head that was leaving MTAC and already searching their area of the bullpen. "She has a call," he said, nodding toward their director as Jenny motioned Ziva to join her.

Neither man spoke as Ziva ascended the steps, Tony's eyes still hard as he watched the woman until she disappeared. "I don't like it, boss. She knows a lot that she's not saying."

"I know," he growled.

Sharp eyes met his. "Rachel's pretty pissed that you took Kate without letting them say goodbye. I tried to explain... Anyway, she's okay, right?"

He frowned at the younger man. Did DiNozzo really think he would leave one of their team like this if she wasn't safe? An irritatingly correct voice in his mind was reminding him that no, she wasn't really safe. She wouldn't be until she disappeared from whatever vindictive hit list she was on. Later, he would admit that he probably should have head-slapped himself instead. For now, he told himself it was a wake up call for DiNozzo, to remind his second that they had other work to do right now- that this conversation about Kate would only distract both of them. It didn't help that he was resisting the urge to get a secured line and see how she had slept.

"Of course she is," Tony replied, rubbing the back of his head. He hurried to McGee's desk and scooped up files. "I'll finish up Probie's search."

"You do that," he warned, heading toward the stairs and making his way up to the room where they had sequestered Kate the day before. Where an angry Rachel would, no doubt, be waiting. At least it would keep him distracted from wanting to call Kate.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

Kate wrapped the oversized robe around her body and slid her feet into a pair of slippers before shuffling slowly through the quiet house. She hadn't brought a robe or house shoes with her, so she assumed that Jackson had left them for her. In all honesty, she couldn't remember if they were in the room the night before or not. She also couldn't believe she had been sleeping for twelve hours solid.

Fingers wrapped around her gun, finding it as comforting as a security blanket. Interestingly enough, she had never carried a blanket as a child, although John, the next to youngest Todd, had carried his everywhere until he was six and a half and the endless teasing meant he relegated it to his bed. She stepped through the hallway, slipping into the bathroom and spotting the note taped to the mirror.

_Sarah, __sleep __as __long __as __you __like __and __help __yourself __to __anything __in __the __cupboards __or __fridge. __I'm __at __the __store __until __lunch__time. _It was followed by the store's number. She folded the note and tucked it into the robe's pocket. Her eyes wandered the halls, noting the absence of pictures or any other decoration. A glance through two open doorways revealed another spare room and a third that looked like a master bedroom.

Not wanting to intrude, she continued down the hall. The night before, she was so tired and her side aching to the point that she hadn't made many observations about the house. It was a single story ranch, and she wandered now into the living room, noting that he had closed the blinds. Stillwater didn't seem like the kind of town where people left the blinds closed, but she appreciated the privacy.

The sudden clank from one room over made her jerk and spin, instantly pulling her weapon.

_Clear__the__room_, she silently reminded herself, forcing herself to slow her breathing. One foot in front of the other, she edged toward the doorway and spun into place, weapon trained. A flash of movement in the corner, and she barely pulled back that last fraction of pressure, instantly lowering the Sig.

In the corner, the puppy whimpered, trying to scrabble out from underneath cardboard box. It seemed several empty boxes had been stacked, and he or she had managed to bring them down.

"Sssh," Kate soothed, giving the room one more sweep to be sure it was clear before she carefully knelt and shifted away the boxes, stacking them neatly again. She moved slowly, not wanting to startle the dog, unsure how it would react. Making little assuring noises, she eased the animal toward her, hands ruffling lightly through its fur, pleased when it stopped whimpering and began to lean into the caresses. "You're okay... sssh..." Her eyes darted around the floor, lighting up when they landed on set of dog dishes. "Trouble... appropriate."

The puppy looked up at its name, body wriggling and tried to climb into her lap.

"Ooh, easy there," she murmured, settling onto the floor, her back against the wall as it climbed into her lap. A quick check gave her what she needed to know. "Good girl." It seemed a little less lonely right now with a pet, and she smiled a little as she continued to give the animal soft strokes.

Not five minutes later, she wished she hadn't gotten so absorbed with the puppy when she heard the backdoor knob turning. Out of instinct, she held the animal still with one hand, the other clearing her gun from her pocket.

"Sarah, it's just me," called a somewhat familiar voice, Jackson Gibbs easing the door open slowly.

She relaxed for a half moment until she remembered she was in her pajamas- thankfully Abby had wisely chosen a pair of flannel pants and an oversized t-shirt instead of some of her more... indulgent evening wear. She tugged the robe closed a bit more and tried to push back her messy locks. "Um... hello."

His smile was compassionate, nothing like the teasing glint that would have appeared in his son's eyes. "I see you met Trouble."

Kate nodded, checking to be sure she had slid the safety back into place on her weapon and then rolled up the long sleeves. "Yeah, I see where she gets her name, too."

He offered a hand, helping her pull up, his other hand cupping her elbow as she straightened. "L.J. warned me about your ribs. Grab a seat, and I'll scrounge up something for lunch."

"I feel like you're doing all the work. Give me a minute, and I'll help you with lunch," she offered, every bit of her home-grown manners kicking in.

Jackson sized her up for a moment before waving toward the bedrooms. "Take your time; I'll be fine in here. You're a guest, and guests don't work around here. Besides, you get yourself hurt any more than you already are, and my son'll kill me. I'm too old to die."

It made her laugh a little, and she scowled a half second later when it made her side ache. Still, she obediently turned back toward the other end of the house. If Abby had tossed in a headband, she could manage to brush her hair and at least tame it. A t-shirt and sweatpants would do the trick...

"And Sarah?"

"Yes, sir?" she asked, turning and getting the standard Gibbs line about not calling him 'sir.'

When he finished the token lecture, he added, "Take your pain medicine while you're at it."

Her face scrunched up in distaste. "Did Gibbs warn you about that, too?"

"Nope," the elder answered with a satisfied smirk that left no doubt in her mind where his son had learned it. "I know stubborn when I see it."


	14. Chapter 14

_Onward we go with the fic. Apologies if Jackson is a little out of character? I'm trying, but I'm far less familiar with him than with the other characters. I have seen "Heartland," but I don't have that season on DVD to watch at whim. Hopefully I'm close. Reviews are much loved, and I'm so grateful for what I've received thus far…_

"There we go, all spic and span," Jack spoke, joining Kate in the living room and taking the easy chair as he waved for her to stay in her place, stretched out on the sofa. "You're fine. Don't get up on my account."

She gave him a soft smile and lowered the picture in her hands, setting it back on the coffee table. "I wish you would have at least let me help with clean up."

His head shook. "I've told you that guests don't do work around here. Bad enough you made dinner—if you slow down your recovery, my son will never let me hear the end of it." Leaning forward, he picked up the picture she had been studying and gave a wistful smile. "Kelly was a beautiful girl."

"Very," Kate agreed quietly, her voice catching as she saw the ache in his expression. "So was her… mother?"

The grayed head nodded. "Shannon. Shannon was the sweetest woman that walked the face of this earth. She and L.J. balanced each other. She held us together." He carefully set the picture back in its place and glanced at her. "Does he talk about them?"

Kate swallowed hard, and shook her head slowly. "I think … I think it's still too hard for him. He's a very private person."

Those searching eyes were sizing her up again, and she knew now where Gibbs got his ability to look into people. To seek out what he wanted to know. She took a slow breath and tried to relax further into the sofa. "You know him well?"

She gave a small shrug. "I know him. It's hard to judge how well anyone knows him."

"Has he mentioned me before?"

"No," she replied, apologetic and trying to keep the reply light. "His job has certain risks. It's better to not share too much, to keep others safe." Kate pressed her lips together now, the Secret Service agent in her rising to the occasion. Of course the profiler in her had analyzed Gibbs forwards and backwards. He surprised her constantly. His past ran deep, and she could only trust that in time, she would know anything she needed to know.

It was just the other day he had mentioned Kelly for the first time. She was glad he told her before she saw the pictures in the living room. Her favorite was the one of Gibbs and Shannon walking in some sort of woods with Kelly on his shoulders. His arm was around Shannon's shoulders, she was leaning into him. His daughter was looking down at the top of his head, the look pure adoration. It explained so much about how private he was, and she knew it had scarred him badly.

She was so lost in her brown study that she didn't realize until several minutes later that Jackson had turned on the television. They passed the evening quietly, watching a game show and then several episodes of C.S.I. Privately, she was amused that she managed to pin the killer in the first ten minutes of programming, and she caught at least seven procedural errors in the first episode before giving up on counting.

"_N.C.I.S.? Is that like C.S.I.?"_

"_Only if you're dyslexic."_

The words came to her memory unbidden, and Kate couldn't resist a glance to her phone as the nightly news began. No missed calls. After Jackson slipped off to bed, she was calling him. As much as she had needed to catch up on rest earlier that day, the quiet was making her nervous.

"In other news, the President has returned from his four day visit to Africa," the reporter was saying.

Her gaze lifted, and she smiled as she spotted two familiar figures on either side of the President. Their suits were carefully tailored, dark glasses in place. Morgan and John. God, she missed them on days like this. John was head of their detail, and it never ceased to amaze her that a man who was so tall could make himself to inconspicuous.

Kate pushed herself to her feet, shifting the pillow on the sofa back to its original spot.

"Many may remember the President's visit to South Africa two and a half years ago when he met with—"

"Sarah?"

Her head jerked up at the name, and glanced at Jackson. "Huh?"

"That's you," he stated, pointing at the screen.

"Where?" Her eyes flickered instantly to the screen, catching a full view of herself, two years back on their trip to Johannesburg. Her hair was a little shorter back then, a little more auburn than her current medium brown… but it was her. "Wow, she could be—"

The direct look—that Gibbs stare—silenced her. "Sarah?" he tried the word as though he doubted it.

She shook her head as though warning him. "I can't say anything." Her eyes met his, apologetic and she spread her hands helplessly. "I promise, I'll explain it all when I can." It was treading on ground she probably had no business crossing, but she couldn't resist. "There _is_ something you should know. Gibbs… he could've hidden me anywhere. He took me to someone he trusts. Where he felt I would be the safest."

"He takes protecting people very seriously," Jackson agreed, half to himself.

"Yeah," Kate said, giving him a brave smile. "I think I'm going to bed."

Jack returned the smile. "Take the quilt with you. The temperature's going to drop overnight."

"Thanks," she murmured, gathering the blanket and turning toward the back of the house.

"And Sarah?"

A little smile crossed her face. _'__And__Sarah__' _seemed to be a common thread in their conversations. It was paternal, and it had tenderness to it. It was so much like Ducky's _'__Caitlin__'_ and _'__my __dear__'_ that she felt her eyes fill suddenly. She blinked back the sudden wash of emotions, swallowing the thickness in her throat. God, she missed her team. "Yes, sir?"

He started to open his mouth to protest the 'sir,' when she gave him a pointed look. _Keep __giving __me __those__ '__And __Sarah__'__s, __and __I__'__ll __keep __adding __on __the__ '__sir.__' _"I always cash in rain checks. I look forward to hearing your story."

She nodded. "Good night, Jack."


	15. Chapter 15

_Lots of tension in this one. Go figure. Another surprisingly long chapter(aren't I always saying that?) and yet still not where I thought it would go. These characters never cease to surprise me. Enjoy reading. And really you all are so kind with reviews. Thank you for your faithful reading. I own just about nothing._

"Good news, Gibbs," Abby called, and he was sure she could see the relief in his face. Seeing her rushing in was always a little unnerving, but never as much as when an agent was on the line.

He stood instantly. "Well, come on, what d'ya got?"

She handed over a stack of papers with endless lists of diseases, only a handful of which he could identify. popped out, and he made a face as she said, "Negative."

"Huh?" Gibbs looked up with a scowl. "Spit it out, Abby. You know how important this is."

Pouting, one hand gestured to the list in his hands. "It's all negative. I mean, except for a minor infection, which her antibiotics probably have just about cleared up by now. No major or minor diseases. I ran everything I could think of, but Kate's blood is clean."

He took a slow breath, the edge easing just a bit. "Thanks, Abby. Good work."

The goth shrugged. "Thanks, but Kate's immune system did most of the work." She stepped closer, eyes flickering around the bull pen, making sure everyone else looked sufficiently preoccupied with their own work. "How is she?"

"_What's wrong, Katie? We can get you out in fifteen—"_

"_No, I'm okay… it's… I needed to talk to you," she interrupted then floundered for words. It was something he heard from McGee on a regular basis but was not at all like Kate._

_Taking a slow breath, he sank into his chair, eyes wandering around the empty room. Almost everyone was gone for the night, save Abby still diligently working away in her lab below him and no doubt the usual crew that kept MTAC running all night. He wasn't entirely sure if Ziva had left for the night. "What's up?"_

"_Jackson knows I'm not who I say I am," she murmured._

"_It's a secure line," he assured her, catching the hesitation in her words, the stilted way she spoke. "What happened?"_

_To her credit, she didn't waste words with assuring him that she didn't slip. She was too good to slip. But his father was exceptionally observant. Even when he lied and got away with it, he had always suspected that Jackson Gibbs knew the truth every time. _

"_It was an old clip on the news. He has a sharp eye."_

"_What did you say?" he murmured, relaxing a little more into his seat. It was good to hear her voice._

"_He made me promise to tell him the whole story someday … Wish it hadn't happened, but I … anyway, you need to know something."_

"_What?"_

"_I remembered something today. I don't know what it means, I was dreaming last night, and it was sort of all over the place. And I was thinking about it today, and it hit me—" _

"_Kate," he called sharply, "You're sounding like Abby."_

"_Oh… okay… um. I remembered something that was weird. One of the nurses. She was about five foot six, dark brown hair in a French braid that went halfway down her back, about a hundred and fifty pounds. Middle Eastern, but I can't tell you which nationality. I'm working on a sketch, and by the way, no one remembered to pack my pencils. Get me a secured connection and I can send in the sketch... Anyway, when she was pulling out the muscle relaxant, she spent a few extra moments with the vials."_

"_Everything you remember," he encouraged, pulling out a pad and scribbling quickly. _

"_It wasn't like she wasn't sure which to pick. They looked identical. She put the first set back and pulled the vial out of another set. Like she knew the right type but couldn't pick which one to grab. Usually it's an automatic, grab the first one. I didn't catch any of the serial codes or anything. I wasn't exactly… thinking about it. I almost took the stupid thing and the syringe from her myself because I was sick of waiting... I brushed it off, but I don't know, it came back tonight, and Rule 39…"_

"_Good," he murmured. "I'll get on that." He paused a moment. "You still okay?"_

_She took a slow breath. "Yeah. Yes."_

"_If you need me, I'll be there."_

"_I know," came her soft voice. "Tell Abby I miss her. And Ducky… and… L.J.?"_

_The name was tentative but warm and it made him smile just a little. "Yeah, Katie?"_

"_Be safe."_

"_You, too. I'll call within 24 hours."_

"_Thanks," she replied, her voice sounding a little thick this time. "Get some sleep, too?"_

"_You, too," he answered, hoping to catch a few hours at his desk. First things first though. "'Night, Kate."_

His arm wrapped around Abby in a tight hug. "She sent that. She's doing okay, and she misses you."

"Bring her back soon, Gibbs," Abby murmured into his chest, giving him a strong squeeze before stepping back.

He shook his head. "I'm working on it. Promise."

"Agent Gibbs?" Descending the stairs was one of the MTAC crew, and Gibbs knew just by the expression on the man's face that he was being summoned.

"Yeah." He gave Abby's shoulder a soft assuring squeeze. "Go find Tony, see what help he needs. I'll be back." Without waiting for any prompting from the messenger, he made quick work of the stairs and slipped into MTAC.

The room was dark, and if he had been expecting Jenny to be in the middle of a conference, he would have been disappointed. Good thing he wasn't.

Their current director had taken a seat on the second row, eyes flickering from screen to screen. She seemed to prefer the back rows, and it made him think that she was still acting like an agent. "Jethro," she murmured quietly in greeting as he joined her, her gaze remaining on the screen for long moments.

"I was summoned," he growled softly. "Why?"

"Agent Todd's apartment was ransacked last night," she murmured quietly. "Her neighbor called it in about five minutes ago, and we're taking jurisdiction."

He started to push to his feet. "I'm on it—"

"DiNozzo is on his way with Ziva and McGee." She caught his hand, holding him in place. "What were you doing at Bethesda?"

"My job," he growled. "What, Jen?"

"What is your extraction plan?"

"Need to know."

"Jethro," she warned.

"Rule 4."

"Second best?" Jenny tried, giving him a direct look.

"There isn't a second best this time," he answered. "I've almost lost her at least twice in three weeks. It's not going to happen again."

Her gaze was fierce, eyes narrowing. "What else should I know about Agent Todd?"

She asked it casually, but he wasn't fooled even for a moment. He had spent way too long with Jenny, plus he wasn't stupid. "We haven't broken any of my rules."

"Yet?" came the muttered question.

"Do you have something to ask?" he hissed. Leaning in, he ducked down until his eyes were inches from hers, invading her space in a way he knew she absolutely hated. "You know, Jen, your eyes were always prettier when they weren't tinged with jealous green." He held still another moment, letting the awkwardness build until she squirmed and he straightened. "Are we done?"

"I have another meeting with Deputy Director David at zero-nine. Do you have any updates?"

His head tilted, nonchalantly. "Working on a new lead. I want to wrap this up, fast. Ever wonder why David isn't being more helpful?" When she didn't have a quick reply, he gave a grim smile. "Just something to think about. I'm going to meet my team, _Director_. And then someone needs to tell Kate what happened."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

The only thing that kept Tony from being too pissed to do his job was the thought that Gibbs was going to be furious when he saw Kate's apartment. For all of the years of teasing between them, and all the times she swore he would never be coming to her apartment, Tony would take it all back for this not to have happened.

Behind him, he heard Ziva give a huff of frustration—or maybe it was impatience?—as she piled sliced throw pillows into a trash bag to take back to the lab. Abby was going to absolutely freak when she saw all of this. He wondered who would draw the short straw on this one. Personally, he would rather tell Kate than Abby. Another puff of irritated breath, and he turned sharply to the Israeli woman. "Is there a problem, Agent David? Maybe you should have brought an inhaler because you seem to have trouble breathing."

Dark eyes glared at him. "Typical American, hmmm? My nationality matches those you suspect of this crime. Ergo, I must be responsible as well? Guilty by corporation."

"Association," he ground out between clenched teeth. A moment later, he snapped three more photographs in quick succession and began picking up shards of glass from shattered picture frames. They started in the living room and were working their way across the room toward the kitchen. He was avoiding the bedroom. It felt like an invasion as it was, and he didn't want to think about how badly Kate was going to hate the idea of any of them in her bedroom. All desire he ever had to sneak a peek in her dresser had dissipated the moment their director called him a half hour ago.

Ziva was standing before him now, her look dangerous. "This was not to harm her. It was a scare tactic. Whether Mossad or not, had they wanted her dead, they would not have done this. They know she is not here. That she would not be here."

He gave a painfully slow clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap. "Thanks for that brilliant insight. Really, we never would have thought."

"I am not here to betray you," she growled. "Agent Gibbs has allowed me on the team. At least for now. Had it been my plan to hurt Agent Todd, well… we would not be having this conversation. I am here to help you."

_Always __watch __the __watchers, _whispered through his mind, and he swallowed back what he really wanted to say. He stifled the urge to strike out, woman or not. "Time will tell, won't it."


	16. Chapter 16

_And o__nward __with __the __saga. __Dun,__dun, __dun__… __Enjoy. __Feedback = __love __and __I __am __rolling __in __the __love._

For a moment, if she didn't think about it very hard, Kate could almost imagine that she was back in Indiana. It never ceased to amaze her how small towns could look so alike. Stillwater was much like the little town of Waldron, Indiana where she spent time as a child with her grandfather until he had passed away from a stroke when she was twelve. He worked as a mechanic, and she often 'kept shop' with him during her summer breaks. By the time she was old enough to really enjoy visiting, her older siblings were over it. It was always an escape from a busy house and annoying older brothers. It felt a little bit like that now- away from Tony and McGee. She wished Abby was here, though.

She carefully restocked several packages of socks and work gloves, taking her time. The days seemed to stretch out here, and after only four days, it felt like a full week. So far she was able to speak to Gibbs twice and Ducky once.

_"How are you, Caitlin, and don't try to fool me with that 'fine' nonsense."_

_His stern affection made her smile, and she relaxed into the pillows. "Still aching, but not as badly. It's going to rain overnight."_

_"Ah, yes, you've become a human barometer." He paused, and she knew he was fighting the urge to tell a story, holding back because their conversation, secure line or not, needed to be brief. "Is that heating pad helping?"_

_"Yes, some," she answered dutifully. "And I've been a good girl and am taking my antibiotics regularly."_

_"You are one of my better patients," he spoke, and Kate could hear the distant throat clearing in irritation that had to be Gibbs. "Is the pain keeping you up at night?"_

_"I'm taking the meds about half an hour before I sleep. It's not as bad as it was." There was no point in trying to get around it. Of course she was still hurting, and she knew Jackson had picked up on it several times. He watched her like a hawk when it came to that. _

_Ducky clicked his tongue thoughtfully. "Try a warm shower or bath when you take the pain reliever. You aren't wrapping it any more, are you?"_

_"Sometimes, for support," she admitted._

_"No more," he instructed. "You need to stop or you'll wind up with pneumonia. If you feel like you need support while you're sleeping or resting, use a pillow and make a splint with it. Remember to breathe deeply as much as possible, otherwise you're much more susceptible to fluid build up."_

As much as Ducky's medical lectures were a part of their daily life, she had missed them over the last few days. When they were on the phone, she had thought that if she closed her eyes, she could almost convince herself that they were on the road to a scene with the overly concerned doctor phoning in to check up on an errant team member. She still wondered what they weren't saying. Gibbs had told her that things were moving now, but he had no idea how long it would be until she could move, much less come back. _"Go__with__Jack__to__the__store.__You__can__be__seen.__Stick__with__your__cover,__and__you'll__be__fine."_

"Jack, you got some-" A man in a sheriff's uniform strode through the door, cutting off mid-sentence when he realized Jackson wasn't alone.

The sudden burst had caught Kate by surprise, making her jump and nearly drop the handful of supplies she was busy restocking. It bothered her that she hadn't seen him coming with her back to the door. No matter how 'safe' she might be here, the agent in her was pissed.

"Here you go, ma'am," the sheriff said with a small smile, as though he was trying to coax her. He handed over one package of crayons that she had dropped. Once she hung them on their hook, his hand reached out. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure, and I haven't seen you around town before. Ed Gantry."

Kate gave him a strained smile, and took the hand. "Sarah. Braden." His shake was harder than she had expected, but she kept hers light.

"Sarah's staying with me for a while," Jackson said smoothly, coming out from behind the counter, broom still in hand. "What can I do for you, Eddie?"

"I wore through my old work gloves- barbed wire sliced it clean open, almost caught my hand, too."

She stepped away from him, letting him reach for the gloves as she slipped into the stock room. Something about him made her skin creep, and she suspected it had something to do with the way he was eyeing her from behind. Like she was some cut of meat in a display. _Remember, __cautious __and __scared. __Sarah __Braden __isn't __an __agent __who __looks __like __she __wants __to castrate him where he stands__._ She let the curtain drop behind her and stepped back from it, one hand falling to her side to feel the comfort of her Sig before letting the oversized flannel shirt fall back into place.

Most of her clothes, besides the jackets, did not conceal her weapon. And some of those shirts and jackets made it impossible to get dressed. It hurt too much, still, to pull anything over her head. Jackson had tossed the soft flannel shirt at her yesterday, tags still attached. She had to give the man credit- the reds and blues were pretty. He had some taste. As it turned out, however, their company did not.

"She's cute, Jack. Is she staying for long?"

Through the curtain, Kate wondered if Jack was giving the other man the famed Gibbs glare. Or maybe he was reaching for that Winchester he kept behind the counter. She was grateful she had left the room- she wasn't sure she would be able to keep her indignation in check.

"Drop it, Eddie. That's not gonna happen. Sarah's visiting for a while. Leave it at that."

Apparently the man didn't take hints because he pressed. "C'mon, what's it gonna hurt? Why not let the lady decide for herself?"

"You don't know how much of a lady she is," came the curt reply. "She came from good people, no family left except a dirtbag of a husband. She showed up at my place the other day with cracked ribs, said she had to get out. So. Lay. Off."

Eddie, to what little credit Kate could give him, mumbled an apology and left a few moments later. She silently counted to thirty before emerging from the back room. "Some company," she murmured to Jack.

The elder man nodded. "I should have shot him years ago. Idiot. I swear, I think I'm destined to shoot him one of these days."

Kate couldn't help the small laugh that escaped.

"You got a story to go with that?"

She shrugged, knowing she probably shouldn't say anything but deciding that Jackson Gibbs knew how to keep his mouth shut and keep a cover in place. "I said almost the same thing to Gibbs the day we met."

It made Jack laugh, and he gave her a knowing smile. One that she wasn't sure how to interpret

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"Thank you. I owe you," Ziva murmured into her satellite phone, ending the conversation and taking a moment to think. Her gaze wandered the room, seeing the rest of Gibbs's team busy at work at their desks, except for DiNozzo who was pacing as he mulled over something.

She had information, and she was going to tell Gibbs about it as soon as he came back. It was a choice, and after she spoke to him, her next conversation would be with Jenny. She couldn't go back to Israel for a while. A long while after this.

"_I don't know what to do," Tali groaned, dropping to the bench and staring at her sister. "Well?"_

_Ziva shrugged, pulling her hair away from her neck and squinting up at the bright sun. "You know your choices. You must make the decision."_

_All __of __the __siblings __had __faced __this __choice. __Whether __to __fully __join __Mossad __or __not. __It __hadn__'__t __seemed __like _much _of __a __choice, __but __it __had __been __one. __Ari __had __seemed __to __have __the __fewest __problems __with __it. __She __hadn__'__t __wrestled __much __with __it __herself. __Officially __Mossad __or __not, __her __father__'__s __career __put __a __target __on __her __back. __She __might __as __well __be __able __to __protect __her __back __as __best __she __could. __And __with __that, __her __own __decision __had __been __made. __Tali __really __was __the __best __of __them, __and __as __such __her __decision __was __the __most __difficult._

"_Why? Why must we choose?"_

"_Even not to choose is still a choice."_

Straightening, she hit the button for the elevator, slipping into the carriage when it opened, pleased to be alone. She hated small talk. Her mind was made up, and although she knew her father would never understand it, she did not care. She did not much understand her father these days. Tali had the most reservations, and she was the first to leave them. Ari had not seemed to care, and he was gone now, too. That left her, and she was done with being a slave to orders. She would take her chances with her own path.

At the ground floor, the door opened with a soft chime and he was standing there, coffee cup in hand.

She pulled him inside and let the door shut. "I need to speak with you."

His hand slapped instantly at the off button, lights dimming and the car stopping. "Then speak."


	17. Chapter 17

_Not much to say, except enjoy and feedback is always much loved. Especially those of you that are so detailed. I love the details. Thanks for reading!_

Dark, expressive eyes lifted to meet cobalt blue. "I should have known before now. Tamir Zeklin is the one you want." Ziva glanced to her right, focusing on the middle distance. "He was once part of Mossad, in fact he trained with Ari. We all grew up together, very close. My father knew his from... anyway," she interrupted herself, shaking herself slight as though to ward off memories. "He was cut off from Mossad four years ago."

"They didn't clean up their own mess?" Gibbs muttered, taking a sip of coffee and leaning back against the wall in a way that spoke of restless tolerance.

"Ari convinced my father that he wasn't a threat. That he would keep friendship and Mossad separate. He was never able to do this, and my father knew that."

"He was dirty."

Ziva nodded with a small sigh. "Yes. Ari still visited him quite often. We suspected he had ties to Al-Qaeda as well, although Ari denied Tamir could do such a thing. My contacts say that he is the one searching for Special Agent Todd."

Gibbs shrugged, trying very hard to feign casualness when Ziva was sure he wanted to tear out of the elevator and get back his agent. She knew there was much more to his turmoil than the mere concern of a superior for his subordinate. More than the fatherly affection he bestowed upon the lab assistant downstairs, and more than the stern paternal authority directed toward DiNozzo and occasionally McGee. For half a moment, Ziva wondered how such things were viewed in America. Americans could be so licentious while simultaneously so uptight. It was very curious.

"Why Agent Todd?" he asked.

"Ari had a fascination, if you will, with American women. Particularly those from the 'all-American' genre. His childhood was extremely ... difficult. He had a contempt for those who had the privileges he felt he was denied. He enjoyed mind games with such women. He was always certain he had the upper hand, and he spoke to me once of her sharp observation skills. As well as her ability to empathize too deeply."

His grimace was almost-_almost_- hidden, but Ziva caught it. "Tamir, I am told, is carrying a grudge. He never cared much for Americans as it was, and never for women. Your Agent Todd embodies all that he hates."

_The __first __curse __was __in __Hebrew, __their __mother __tongue. __The __second, __uglier, __came __in __Arabic __for __effect. __The __third __was __punctuated __with __a __kick. __An __unsuccessful __kick __that __Ziva __lithely __evaded, __her __own __foot __snaking __behind __his, __pressing __into __the __bend __of __his __knee __and __making __him __fall __heavily._

_While __Ari __and __his __friend __had __been __in __Mossad __longer, __had __more __extensive __training, __she __had __caught __onto __combat __quickly __and __had __a __gift __for __it. __Some __had __said __it __was __a __curse. __Most __opponents __underestimated __her __because __of __her __small, __thin __stature. __Ziva __learned __almost __immediately __to __capitalize __on __this __mistake._

_She __wrenched __both __arms __behind __his __back, __securing __them __with __his __own __handcuffs. __She __would __wonder __later __why __he __bothered __to __carry __them. __He __had __always __been __the __kind __to __step __on __a __bug __with __precision, __squashing __it __bit __by __bit, __pressure __slowly __building. __Ari, __however, __thrilled __in __using __the __magnifying __glass __to __focus __the __sun's __heat __and __watch __them __writhe._

_"You __should __go __back __to __your __home, __woman," __Tamir __hissed __at __her, __even __as __her __fingers __dug __into __a __pressure __point __on __his __shoulder. __"Or __are __you __trying __to __be __a __man. __Is __that __you r__wish, __Ziva __David?"_

_Biting __back __the __grunt __of __irritation __that __she __knew __would __only __delight __him, __she c__limbed __to __her __feet __and __stepped __back __before __he __could __buck __her __off. __To __the __side, __Ari __stood __with __his __sardonic __grin._

_"Did __that __satisfy __your __curiosity, __Tamir? __I __told __you that __she __was __well __trained."_

_Ziva __glared __at __him __and __tossed __the __handcuff __keys __into __the __dirt __behind __her __before __turning __and __walking __away. __She __had __not __dignified __either __man __with __an __answer._

"Do you know where he is?"

Ziva sighed and leaned back against the side of the elevator. "Not yet. I have made calls, as soon as I know, I will tell you. I don't know what precautions you wish to take. I don't know what contacts _Tamir__has__in__the__states.__I__don't__know__that__I__would__take__the__chance."_

He slapped at the power button and gave her a curt nod. As the doors opened, he charged forward, barely looking back as he evaded DiNozzo.

"Boss, we have a lead on-"

"I need everything you have on Tamir Zeklin. Birth on up. Now_."_

"Boss!"

With a growl, Gibbs turned.

"Got it," Tony answered, this time without his usual smirk of satisfaction. "We need to move."

"Grab your gear and get the car," Gibbs answered, tossing the keys to his second and turning toward Ziva. "You have exactly nine minutes and forty seconds to decide if you're coming or not."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"You were right, Boss Man, the sheriff's office is searching," Abby was going ninety miles an hour, as usual, as Gibbs waved the rest of his team out of the car and towards the waiting helo.

He hadn't thought twice about calling in some favors on this one. They had a team of Rangers already moving toward Stillwater, under cover, to make sure Ahadi didn't beat them to it. That team was already fanning through the town, and they would be arriving within forty minutes.

"Anything, yet?"

"Everything is routine so far," his favorite goth replied. "Basic background check, pulling up the charges 'Sarah' filed. He hasn't looked any further than that."

"Good, keep an eye on it. Anything not from the sheriffs off, lock it up. Lock up anything that looks-"

"Hinky," she finished for him. "Got it ... Hey, Gibbs-"

"Be safe, I know, Abs," he finished for her with a fraction of a smile before he focused again. "Gotta run." He shot off a quick text before sprinting for the helo and quickly buckling himself into the seat. A quick glance around to be sure his agents were secured, and he grabbed the headset being offered to him. It was in his ear before he could finish saying, "We're a go!"

In his hand, the phone buzzed as the text came back. _See __you __in __40._ He hoped they would. If anything went wrong with getting Kate out, there would be no stopping his quest to hunt down every person related to it.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

She didn't like it, not one bit. It had taken Jack a lot of convincing to get her to agree to dinner out. They were sitting at the small diner where he had brought lunch from the day before. She had managed two whole days at the store, and here… well, word had gotten around fast.

Everyone had eyed her, and she saw the sympathy in their gazes. Caught a few whispers ending with _'__poor__thing.__'_ It made Kate wonder what the residents of Stillwater would say if they knew the truth—that rather than escaping from an abusive husband, she had fled terrorists or their ghosts.

"Here you go, hon," the waitress spoke, at their table again. One hand was sliding a very large piece of chocolate pie before her, the other topping off Jackson's coffee.

She looked up in surprise, swallowing and glancing at Jack. "Thanks, but I didn't…"

"Couple of people wanted to treat you," she replied smoothly, and Kate suppressed a sigh as she spotted Ed and some older ladies who had nosed around during the week.

She felt a little bad, knowing she was misleading them. Not to mention that she was a tired from a full day at the store, plus a little achy from trying to pass the day without pain medicine. "Thank you," she murmured, taking a few bites and shifting a little in her seat, hoping everyone would go back to their meals.

"Is something wrong?" Jackson asked quietly after their waitress slipped off again.

She played with her fork. "Besides everyone trying to stuff me full of food?" It came out cross, and she winced, knowing they meant well. Frankly, she was getting a little concerned that by the time her ribs healed enough to run again, she would be out of shape and at least ten to fifteen pounds heavier. At least at the rate things were going with these nosy women with too much time and too many ingredients on their hands… "Grab a fork and help me out."

"Are you trying to get me in trouble, Sarah? You can get arrested for eating a lady's meal around these parts."

Kate picked up her knife and cut off a large chunk of dessert, sliding it off onto his plate. "Yours now." The vibration of the cell phone against her hip made her nearly levitate off the seat of the booth. A quick glance around told her that they were all busy with their own meals again.

Carefully, she slid it half under the table and checked the screen. "Jack," she breathed.

"Yes, ma'am?"

_Extraction __at __dark. __Be __ready __in __15 __just __in __case, __I__'__ll __be __there __in __an __hour._ She swallowed hard, and slid the phone back into her pocket. Oh they definitely had something. A hour had never seemed longer in her life. Knowing Gibbs, it would be more like 30-40 minutes, tops. "We need to go back to your place."

"Is everything—" He stopped in mid-sentence, shaking his head and waving over their waitress. "Betty, I'm sorry, but we've got to head out." Pulling out his wallet, he handed over money. "Sarah here isn't feeling very well, and it's best if we go. Dinner was wonderful."

It was easy to fake not feeling well. Kate's hand slipped up to rub at her forehead. She knew she looked upset and pale from the text, and she went with it. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Migraine."

"My ex used to get those," Betty clucked sympathetically. "You get her on home, Jackson. Close up those blinds and make her get some rest."

It was the sort of patronizing comment that would typically raise her ire, but Kate let it roll off of her. She caught one glance of the sheriff in the corner and winced, eyes shutting as Jack helped her up. _Leave __me __alone_, she tried to channel at the man, leaning into Jack as he steered them toward the door.

"I can run you home." Ed was at the door, holding it open for them and nodding toward the car.

"Aw, that's nice, but I've got it. I think a quiet room would be best," Jackson evaded neatly, helping her into the passenger's seat of his own car and very gently closing her door.

She shut her eyes, hand resting over her eyes for effect and finally giving a little sigh of relief when quiet fell and Jack began to drive off. "Please tell me he's gone."

"We're fine," Jackson answered, taking the left turn and smoothly steering for home. "He might pop up later to check in, but we'll keep you in the back."

"I just need enough time for Gibbs to show up. He said extraction team will be here in fifteen—more like ten minutes now. Let them set up a perimeter, and we'll lay low until dark." She let her eyes shut, wishing she had time for a nap and knowing she needed to pack anything she wanted to take with her… wherever she was going next. This was the worst part: waiting. She had never been a patient person.


	18. Chapter 18

_Onward and onward, I still own nothing much at all. Enjoy. Reviews make everyone's day. Un-betaed as usual._

There were rare moments when Gibbs regretted his colorful relationship that he had with his hometown. Tonight was one such time. He knew from vast experience that there was no way to sneak into Stillwater at until dusk. Neighborhood watch had existed in that town for decades longer than middle class suburbs dreamed of the idea.

"She'll be fine, Boss," DiNozzo spoke up from his side as Gibbs climbed into the back of a small supply truck. It was meant to look like it was delivering frozen meat, but it would slow near the Gibbs home and let him slip out. His second would be busy driving into town as a very lost city resident as cover while he scouted the town. Meanwhile, Ziva was to remain near their helo in the fields to the north on standby.

"You hear anything, you catch wind of anything, you call," he grumbled, giving Tony and Ziva both a hard look to be sure they understood. With a nod to the officer in plainclothes, he closed the back of the truck and made himself as comfortable as he could on the hard floor. His last text from Kate said they were back at the house and that the house was secured. Now things just needed to stay that way for long enough to find Tamir and any of his associates.

For all of the money he paid in traffic violations over the years, they certainly hadn't spent much on the roads. That or Army boy up front wanted to give him a ride to remember. Either way, he found himself bracing against a corner as they bounced over pot hole after pot hole. If this kid broke an axel and slowed him down, he was going to transfer him to Reykjavik.

Trying to reach for patience that didn't exist, he took slow breaths, mentally running through the next moves. If all went according to plan, he would find Kate safe in the house with the area still secured. They would lay low until dark, then evac out and back to D.C. He still wasn't completely sure he was making the right choice, but surely anyone with good enough resources would know Franks was in Mexico and would be his choice to send Kate. Better to keep her close.

He wished he'd had time to talk to Kate before they descended on Stillwater, but time was something that was scarce right now. Their last conversation hadn't been easy, and now they were moving fast again. As soon as they were in a secure area, he was making Ducky check her ribs.

"_What's wrong?" she had asked, her voice hushed, even though he knew she was alone in her room and that they were on secure lines. _

_He held out only a moment, knowing that waiting was not going to make this better. "Your place was trashed."_

"_What … you mean … like, ransacked?" she had asked uncertainly._

_Gibbs winced. "More than just ransacked. Your couch is ruined, most of the little pillow things—"_

"_Throw pillows," she sighed. "Even the big corduroy one?"_

"_Yeah," he murmured. "Sorry, Katie, we should have had someone watching it closer—"_

"_No," Kate protested. "You got me out, that was the important thing. Just … is anything irreplaceable? I mean, anything I would really care about?_

"_That blue bowl in your kitchen that had flowers in it. Your bedspread."_

_There was dead silence for a long moment before she asked in a tight voice, "My bedroom?"_

"_Everything was pulled out."_

"_Who went through it?"_

"_I did," he replied, hoping it sounded reassuring. _

"_Tony didn't—"_

"_Kate, he didn't go in your room. He saved it for me and for Abby to photograph and put back together." That was when he had known how serious it was—when DiNozzo met him at her apartment door and told him they were almost done with the living room, that they had left her bedroom for him to take care of. At first he'd wanted to head-slap the younger man, but once he entered the room… he'd murmured thanks and started snapping and bagging evidence. _

_Abby had personally handled each piece of Kate's things, spending nearly forty hours working to process and carefully store away everything until Kate could claim it. The bowl was irreplaceable—not worth much monetarily, but it had been a bowl her grandmother had used and passed on to Kate upon her passing. Several frames were smashed, but some careful work by Abby and McGee would restore the photographs inside them._

_Mostly, it was the invasion of her home. Her haven. And then there were the Hebrew words scrawled across Kate's bedroom wall in black permanent marker. Ziva had given the translation as, "A woman's best garment is silence. Teach your tongue to say 'I do not know.'"_

The soft double knock against the wall was his cue as the truck slowed to a crawl. Gibbs lifted the door slowly, glancing around a moment before slipping out and bouncing just once as he transitioned from moving vehicle to solid ground. Immediately he slipped into the back alley and quickly ducked between trash bins while turning on his ear wig and finding the right frequency. "Gibbs coming in."

"We read you, sir."

Blue eyes rolled in annoyance. _Sir. __Kid __sounds __as __green __as __McGee __was __two __years __ago._ He silently let himself through the gate and was ushered through the back door moments later. The urge to find Kate and see her for himself was overwhelming, but he took the moments needed. "Still secure?"

The young corporal nodded. "Yes, sir. Perimeter is up and solid. My men throughout town are holding tight. Everything is go."

"I want to know the second that changes," he answered, pressing on into the house and making his way into the living room where his father was watching the evening news as though this was perfectly normal. "Where's Kate?"

Jackson looked up in surprise and confusion. "Welcome back, Leroy."

"Kate?" he pressed, moving on toward the bedrooms.

"Is that her real name? It suits her much better than…"

The words faded out behind him as he opened the guest bedroom door and leaned against the frame. An almost-smile graced his lips as he watched Kate struggling with the top of her small suitcase. It just didn't want to close.

Her hair was loose and a little wild, falling occasionally in her face. She was wearing an oversized flannel shirt, and for a moment he wondered what she would look like in his flannel shirt. _Beautiful._ "I take the fastest flight I can get, but I don't even rate a hello?"

A moment later she was struggling to her feet, assisted by his hand cupped under her elbow. Her arms flew around him, squeezing him tightly enough that he was the one easing her back a touch before sliding arms around her again to hold her for several long moments.

Kate was warm against him, breathing and vibrant. Very much safe. He pressed a warm kiss into her hair before resting his cheek against the dark strands, one broad hand rubbing her back gently. "L.J.?" she murmured into his chest.

"Yeah?"

"I'm ready to go home," came the soft burr before she rested her cheek against him, head tilting up until soul-full eyes met his. "I mean … I guess my place is… anyway, back to D.C.?"

His fingers slid up her back, ruffling ever so gently into her hair. "I'm working on it. Can we get out of here first?"

She nodded, and it made him smile a little as he saw her settling, her world shifting to a little more even keel.

Gradually they parted, and he moved to her bag, pressing down on it and expertly zipping it shut.

"Perimeter's secure?"

His eyebrows lifted in surprise, having expected her to know this already. "Yeah. Didn't you—"

Kate tried to look repentant. "I felt like it would be hovering. And I wasn't sure you wanted me to blow my cover just yet."

"They know you're important but not much beyond that. By the way, dad thinks 'Kate' suits you better."

It made her smile as she turned to survey the room again. Her gaze was wandering, but it was purposeful, searching. Surely she had to already know ever escape route and would know her contingency plans. He couldn't quite follow her when she stopped abruptly. "Uh, Gibbs, I got a small problem."

"I'm not making a store run for _women__'__s_ products," Gibbs scowled, practically spitting out the word.

Her laugh was soft, but there. "I wouldn't risk your male pride," she tossed back, carefully kneeling and shifting slowly to fish something out from between the night stand the bed. Lifting the large can of hairspray she wagged it at him. "You get to make some space in there."

He grabbed it and tossed it toward the bucket where it landed with a satisfying clunk. "I'll buy you a case when—"

The door swung open with a crash, and he reacted, one arm wrapping around her and pulling her down under him.

A half moment later, silence descended, and he could see the pair above him. Two nervous Army with weapons drawn and the safety off.

"False alarm," he groaned, pushing himself up. "Won't happen again."

Amber eyes narrowed up at him, and she protested the following two minutes solid as the men left them and he probed her side as gently as he could. "That _better_ not happen again," Kate growled. "Or you're walking home."

"Are you sure you're—"

With a slow breath, she twitched her shirt into place. "I'm _fine_."


	19. Chapter 19

_Well __kids, __here __we __go __again. __Hope __this __makes __sense, __because __I__'__m __fighting __yet __another __of __Kate__'__s __colds. __Lucky __me, __I__'__m __on __my __second __cold __this __fall. _ _Reviews __are __always __such __a __wonderful __gift __to __receive. Originally I wondered where this fic would go, and I never imagined it would make people late to class or that it would stretch out to 19 chapters and counting (hmm. maybe I've been watching TLC and the Duggars too long... I digress... on to the fic...)_

"Hey, great pie you got here!" Tony exclaimed around a mouthful, giving his most charming grin to the waitress who was eating up every bit of his attention as she topped off his coffee. "Seriously, you should market this. What's it got raspberries?"

"Berry pie is Betty's specialty, but the recipe's a secret. Won't get one word outta her," spoke up a man at the next table. He was leaning back as though he owned the place, shifting to display his uniform. It reminded Tony of those rookies in Baltimore- or anywhere else for that matter- that couldn't help but flash their shield every place they went. He knew cops on up the ranks who did it, hoping to score kickbacks or simply to show off. As much as he might strut and talk himself up, he chafed at the idea of doing the same.

Okay, maybe he had indulged a little of that, maybe he still did when the cause warranted it. But it was more to play a part, to influence suspects or charm them into giving up more information. Occasionally it was meant to intimdiate. He only flashed his shield with purpose.

Tony gave him a nod. "Top secret, got it. Still, you should look into selling them online. You'd clean up. This is the best wrong turn I ever took."

"Where you headed?" the sheriff asked, taking a long sip of his coffee.

"A little getaway at Briar Creek. I think my GPS is on the fritz or something." He kept his body relaxed, casual, glancing around the room again and taking inventory. No one stood out, but he still felt uneasy.

Several chuckles followed this announcement. "Unreliable stuff, doesn't know half the roads in these parts," the sheriff dismissed. "What you want to do is go back south, then take 487 South down to 93 South, it'll take you right in."

"Thanks," Tony replied with a cheeky grin, giving a playful wink to the nosey looking old woman two booths over. Undercover was a lot like following someone. It was one of his personal rules. Two ways to go undercover: 1. No one notices you. 2. Everyone notices you. Usually the first worked best for long-term undercover, and really it was the preferred way. But the second was much more fun, and he was a natural at it.

"All kinds of people turning up these days," muttered an older man nearby.

It was the opening he had been hoping for. Eyes lighting up with interest, he assumed an indulgent pose. "Oh yeah? Guess you don't get a lot of visitors? Anyone interesting, besides present company?"

When his words made the sheriff chuckle, he knew he was in. Oh yeah, boss was gonna be really happy with him. Assuming they managed to get Kate out tonight as planned.

"Couple of new faces around here. First there was a pretty girl, brunette, staying with Gibbs. Saw her a couple times this week in the store, but she's a shy thing."

Tony managed to keep his face relaxed, expression open even as he winced internally. This guy had no idea who he was talking about, and if Kate had heard either _girl_ or _thing_, she would have flipped out.

"... anyway, story is her husband was a loser, beat her up or something. She doesn't talk much to anyone, so I don't know if she's shy or stuck up. And then this afternoon we had some crew show up, working on the power lines and scouting for some new company looking to take over an empty lot a few blocks over. Strange thing, saw one of those Middle Eastern fellas driving through town, too. Don't see many of those around here. Looked kinda suspicious, anyway. Riding around in a little black Nissan."

"He headed out of town?" Tony threw the question up lightly

The sheriff shrugged uncomfortably. "He drove around a bit, saw him cruise by later on. I ran the plates, but... anyway," he shook himself, as if realizing the interest he was gaining as a little ripple of murmured conversation spread around the dining room.

"He was watching everything, drove down our street earlier- Sandy and I passed him on the way here," a man from another booth volunteered.

"You see him again, let me know," the sheriff answered, drinking the last of his coffee and tossing some bills on the table. "I'm gonna drive around a bit, see what else I find."

Tony gave him a short nod. "Nice meeting you, and thanks for those directions."

"You have a nice time at the creek," the sheriff replied, settling his cap into place.

"Oh, I will," Tony answered, fishing out his wallet and paying his own tab. "I definitely will."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"McGee, we clear?" Gibbs asked, shifting a little as the vehicle slid into motion.

Kate shifted slightly, trying to find a comfortable spot beside him as she reminded herself to be thankful they were in the back of a minivan converted into use for a cable company. The windows were so thickly tinted that no one could see in, and cabling and tools littered the back. Still, it was a definite step up from the vehicle that had brought Gibbs into town. At least this had some stacks of pads and matting that they were able to use to fashion into a seat of sorts.

"Clear, boss," came the call from the front.

"Good," Gibbs sighed, finally relaxing a little, his arm sliding around Kate in the darkness. "You

okay?"

She took a moment to consider before answering softly, even though McGee couldn't hear her from up front. "I'm tired." The vehicle was rocking, but it was a gentle, soothing motion, and her heart rate was slowly steadying itself from the rush of a few minutes ago. Their quick work to slip from the house into the waiting van down the alley had been tense, and it felt like all the seriousness of a Black Op. She almost expected to learn she needed to don face paint. As it was, she was wearing a dark jacket and black workout pants.

The entire journey from the house to the van, he was beside her, keeping her between his body and the fence as they nimbly wove past trashcans. She wondered if it was luck or good planning that made him arrange for extraction the night before trash pick up. They'd had much more cover than they expected. It was probably a little of both.

"C'mere," he murmured, adjusting a few cushions and helping her find a comfortable spot on her good side, her head resting against his thigh. "Have you taken anything?"

"Couple of ibuprofen." Before he could object, she shifted slightly, eyes meeting his in the dimness. "The other meds make me so sleepy, and I need to be awake. Or at least not drugged."

He nodded, acknowledging her point and adjusted the cushion behind her lower back to be sure she wasn't being rocked against the side of the van. "Turn up the heater a little, McGee," he called before relaxing against the cushion and the side of the truck.

Quiet was thick but comfortable between them, at least for now. Kate knew they had a lot to talk about, at least at some point or another, when all this ended. For now, she was tired but not sleepy, and she soaked in the comfort of his warmth and the steadiness of his hand resting between her shoulders.

She didn't think she had fallen asleep, but Kate couldn't remember when the Gibb's phone rang, and she hadn't heard the beginning of the conversation. When she tried to sit up, his hand put gentle pressure on her back, urging her to stay in place.

"Stay there until the LEOs make it, get one of them to drive you to the airport, take the first flight you can." He shut his phone with a fast click. "McGee," he called, voice raising. "As we head into Harrisburg, followed the signs to the County Club."

"Gibbs?" Kate murmured in question.

He shook his head, flipping his phone open again and dialing. "Go," he called. "… Yeah, County Club in Harrisburg. Clear it with airspace, pick us up there … I don't know, on the golf course, in the parking lot, Ziva, use your brain and figure it out!" Gibbs closed with phone with another loud snap and helped her sit up. "DiNozzo called. Stillwater's local sheriff is dead. Looks like Tamir did it—unless they suddenly got overrun with assassins. Pro job."

"Helo's picking us up," she stated softly, running one hand through her mussed hair and remembering just in time not to sigh. It might not hurt as much, but it still made a dull ache.

"Yeah."


	20. Chapter 20

_Happy __Thanksgiving. __I__'__m __still __dealing __with __remnants __of __the __cold, __so __I __hope __this __makes __sense. __Reviews __are __wonderful. __Enjoy_

Thankfully the entrance to the parking lot was not gated. It was late, around one in the morning, and they had not had to deal with security. Kate continued to run through a silent list of things to be grateful for, trying hard to keep herself distracted from the doubts popping up in the back of her mind.

"_Ziva is coming up with the helo?" she'd tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice, but she hadn't managed. As they pulled into a parking space behind the main building, parking near a loading dock, Gibbs had started to strap her into a Kevlar vest._

_He was guiding her gently but firmly into the vest, pulling straps taut before helping her fit her jacket over it. "Yeah."_

"_Gibbs … can we trust her?" She knew it was the question they were all wondering._

"_She's in too deep to turn on us now," came his only explanation before he shed his jacket, donned a vest, and slipped the jacket back on. "McGee?"_

"_Yeah, boss?" Their junior field agent had been quiet through the whole drive and the moments since they parked. Kate wondered just how much of their conversation he caught, but at least he was smart enough to pretend not to hear any of it. _

"_I'm running recon. Channel seven. Stay with Kate, no matter what."_

"_Yes, sir."_

"_Don't call me 'sir,'" Gibbs muttered before giving Kate's hand a squeeze and slipping his ear wig into place. He slipped from the van, quickly blending into the shadows and disappearing._

Two more minutes until he checked in, and Kate thought she was going to lose her mind. This. This was exactly why they should stop it now. Whatever 'it' was becoming between them. Between her and her boss. It was exactly why she broke up with Tim Kerry, and now the thought of losing another man she cared about … _You__'__re __the __one __who__'__s __in __too __deep_.

"Kate? _Caitlin_?"

Her head jerked up, and she glared at McGee. "It's Kate."

Even in the very dim light she could see the mix of hurt and irritated that McGee wore so well. Sometimes he looked exactly like a kicked puppy. An overgrown puppy. Retriever, maybe? "You didn't answer," he hissed back defensively, handing over her ear wigs. "We're on seven still. Gibbs wants us to meet him at the third fairway."

She stuffed it into place, slipping the mic into her wrist cuff by memory and slipping out of the van. With a slightly wistful glance back, she ignored her bag. Someone from the County Club could ship it to her later. If she was it again. Right now, getting out was priority.

"I can take it—" the younger man offered.

She shook her head. "No. We're going." Her jaw clenched, and she fought to ignore the emotions. _They__'__re __just __clothes. __You __have __more __back __in __D.C._ In Abby's lab. Because her apartment was trashed. This was not going to be a good end to the day, even though she was certain her day would not end at her place.

Jogging was her distraction. The ache in her side made her forget anything else, eyes sweeping the trees as they followed the tree line that buffered between golf and the tennis courts and pool. It was cover for them and for anyone that might be hiding. She knew they were probably fine. The location was random and impromptu. Still, there were risks.

Not until she was nearly on him did Kate realize their boss was three feet away on the other side of a tree. Despite the channel, she had chosen to remain silent as they worked their way to him. "All clear?"

"Yeah. Helo will touch down in two minutes." His hand came to rest on her lower back, giving a light caress, steadying her.

Kate tried to tell herself that there were three layers of clothing between his touch and her skin. One: jacket. Two: freakin' Kevlar. Three: flannel shirt. She should _not_ be feeling anything but focus right now. This was a distraction, and distractions were the fine line between almost hurt and hurt. Almost killed and…

"Boss, Tony's calling you."

The hand on her back gave a gentle pat before fishing out the phone. "Keep your eyes peeled," he murmured, flipping it open. "Yeah, DiNozzo? … See if you can get it released … Make it happen," he ground out. "We're waiting for the pick up… As _soon_ as you can."

She wanted some space to think. It wasn't easy to sort out feelings until she had time alone. The past few days she had plenty of time and space in Stillwater, but she had spent all of her time trying to rest while drugged and dealing with the stress of the unknown. Now her head felt clear again, but she couldn't think through this with _him_ standing so near. She knew she wasn't going to have much privacy in the coming days, either. "Where are we going after this?"

"Back to the yard," he murmured, pocketing phone yet again and taking the night vision goggles from McGee to scan the area. "Gonna have Ducky check you over, first." He passed the goggles back to the younger agent. "McGee, go south, check down the ridge."

"On it, boss," McGee murmured, taking the offered goggles and slipping down the tree line.

She caught Gibbs's arm and his attention. "After Ducky checks me again, where then?"

The half moon offered enough light for her to see his face. He had an answer, but she wasn't going to like it.

She knew her home wasn't the answer. Even if it had been swept for any remaining devices, it was probably still a bit of a mess and definitely not secured. "You're not taking me to your place?"

"That's the first place someone will come looking for you," he murmured, the sound of a helo thumping distantly. "You're not gonna like it."

"Does it keep me alive?"

He shook his head. "Not funny, Katie."

"Gibbs," she protested, catching his arm again. "Come on."

"You're staying with the director."

"The…"

"Yeah," he answered, eyes darting along the tree lines as the helo approached and touched down on the fairway. Ziva was on their channel now, calling for them. "Let's go." He pulled his gun, making sure Kate had hers drawn as they raced toward their ride. Forty yards.

Anything could happen in forty yards, and he spotted McGee about fifteen yards past them, his weapon drawn as he swept the clearing, following them in. Keeping cover even as Ziva stepped out of the helo and did her own sweep.

At twenty yards, his arm wrapped around Kate, and within moments more he was helping her up into their ride. It was blessedly anticlimactic as McGee folded himself in behind them, followed by Ziva and finally him. They saved the seat beside Kate for him, and he quickly snapped himself into place, reaching over and adjusting her belts as they lifted from the ground and he took his first deep breath in days.


	21. Chapter 21

_And on drags this fic, LOL. Okay, it's fun to write, honestly it is… but I really keep thinking I'll have this wrapped up in a few more chapters and my characters have their own crazy devious ways of making it last longer yet. Gotta watch those Kibbs. Have fun with some fluff and a bit more… tension. I own nothing except some student loans, and I borrowed a quote from Yankee White. Reviews make the holidays merry. Still recovering from a bunch of head crud, so thanks for all the patience even when I look back later and realize there may have been a slight continuity error or editing error or two._

"Caitlin, I only want to check—"

"No! No, Ducky. Please, I'm _tired_, and I'm _sore_, and I'm _cold,_and I just want a bed!"

Gibbs could hear her protesting as he stepped from the elevator and took the few steps leading to the autopsy doors. Oh she was definitely tired, and he steeled himself with a quick sip of fresh coffee before facing her.

She was sitting at the end of a table, dressed in the same sweatpants and flannel shirt. Sometime in the last half hour, Ducky had helped her out of the vest, which was tossed over a chair in the corner. They had taken new x-rays, now on the light board, side by side with her previous ones. He guessed their M.E. had also done an exam because Kate's shirt was unbuttoned, but she had wrapped it closed around her and was holding it resolutely shut, both arms crossed over her chest.

It was a stand-off, and there were no two ways around it. Ducky could be the most compassionate doctor, and it was clear he was doing his best to be understanding… but Kate was having none of it. And Katie could be as stubborn as they came.

"Caitlin, dear, I want to check the bruising again."

"No."

"Jethro," Ducky spoke up, looking very relieved to see him. "Good of you to join us." The last part had a suspicious tinge of sarcasm. "I was just explaining to our patient that I need to check the bruising."

Gibbs nodded towards the light boxes. "How do those look?"

"Improved," he replied with a crook of his finger and a little nod of his head. His finger ghosted above the outline of a rib, indicating the fine black cracks, the tops of which were smudged. "See there? Healing up already. In fact, Kate, your ribs are mending better than I had expected."

"He's x-rayed me, used me as a pincushion, and I really, _really_ want to sleep," she sighed. "I did my best to relax, and now… I swear, Ducky, I'm grateful, but _please_," Kate begged, looking close to undone.

Gibbs frowned a little, not at her words so much as her tone. This was their former Secret Service agent. Things were tense and stressful, but she usually soldiered it well. The fact that she was so upset over this wasn't sitting well with him. "Duck? Can you check her tomorrow? Or at least after she gets some sleep?"

Ducky glanced between the two of them and finally gave a nod, scooping up a tube and handing it over. "Alright, yes. But in the meantime, use this topical analgesic on your side and the heating pad over it."

Kate took the tube, giving his wrist a squeeze and offering up a tremulous smile. "Thanks, Ducky," she whispered before swallowing hard. "I'm sorry… I'm… I'm not trying to be difficult."

"That's alright, dear," he murmured, leaning in and pressing a fatherly kiss to her forehead. "Jethro's right, some sleep is just the ticket."

Gibbs's hand gently cupped under her elbow, helping her off the high table. He took the tube and pocketed it. "Hang on a sec, I got it," he murmured, taking hold of the buttons and matching them into the button holes of her shirt, working his way up as she started at the top and met him in the middle.

She trembled, once, as he started to work, but settled a moment later when Ducky slipped into his office, leaving them. He would have to thank his friend later for the privacy. When his arm slid around her and guided her toward the elevator, she relaxed against him, her head resting against his shoulder. "L.J., I wish we could go to your place."

"I know, but you're supposed to get _rest_," he teased with a hint of a smirk.

Kate's elbow dug lightly into his side, though she pulled the jab. Had he been DiNozzo, it would have been hard enough to bruise. Her face was flushing bright pink. "That wasn't what I meant, and you know it."

He did know it. They hadn't gone there, yet. They were still feeling out things between them. "Jack told me if I waited around forever, I was an idiot," he murmured as they slipped into the hallway.

She laced her fingers through the hand around her. "Yeah… uh, Ducky kind of… anyway…"

Gibbs paused at the back doors leading out of autopsy where he had pulled around a car with nice dark tinting on the windows. "Ducky kind of what?"

"Nevermind," Kate answered too quickly, her face coloring brightly again.

Hmm… He had to admit, he enjoyed making Kate blush. It was girlish, and very endearing. She could be very conservative, what DiNozzo had once termed _a__prude_. He thought it was fascinating coming from the woman who admitted had asked Ducky, on the day they first met, _Did__you__think__I__was__a__virgin?_ Gibbs paused. "What'd he say?"

She stopped and turned to face him squarely, her look direct. "He asked about my stress levels."

"And?" Gibbs prodded, taking another sip of his coffee and, yes, a tiny bit of him enjoyed the way she shifted uncomfortably, unable to hold his gaze.

"_And_ he said a good release of endorphins would help the healing process. And then he rambled on about the dangers of a high level of cortisol and then he added something about the two of us needing a vacation."

It made him smirk, which made her roll her eyes in a look of long suffering. He leaned in and gave her cheek a kiss. "It's his way of saying he approves, Kate."

She gave a little nod, giving in when his arm wrapped around her again and stroked her back slowly.

"Come on," he murmured. "You've got a safe house waiting for you, along with a hot bath and a soft bed."

"Director Sheppard's?" she asked as she slipped into the waiting car.

He nodded, shutting her door and quickly rounding the car and sliding into the driver's seat. "It's the safest place. If I had any other options…"

"Ducky's was out?"

Gibbs lifted his eyebrows as he buckled his seatbelt and hit the button for the automatic garage door opener. "You really wanted to spend all day in a house with Ducky's mother?"

She shrugged. "Not… really… How awkward is this going to be? I didn't remember meeting her—I still don't remember meeting her except for the other day. It's weird. Especially when we… you know."

This still wasn't the Kate he was used to—his confident agent still hadn't found her footing. This whole thing had thrown her, and it was throwing him. Again he was debating if he could keep her at NCIS headquarters. No. She needed to be in a home, and NCIS wasn't a secure as he would like. At least at Jenny's they could set up perimeter. Her place was already under security, and amping it up and assigning two agents would be easiest. "She knows you're capable, Kate. Jen started as a probie on my team. She knows Rule 5."

When she didn't say anything to that, his fingers reached over, gently nudging up her chin. "Katie?"

She took a steadying breath and nodded. "I'll be fine."

"One call, and I'm there—"

Her dark head nodded again, and she finally reached for her seatbelt and secured it. "Okay."

He leaned forward, pulling the slack on his own seatbelt and pressed his lips to hers, giving her a slow kiss before pulling back and starting the car. They made their way through the streets of D.C. in the late night hours, taking some long, winding roads, doubling back a few times to be sure no one was following.

When he pulled off the highway again, she stirred from her light nap, blinking and taking in the tall homes partly obscured by various fences, nearly all of them behind walls and gates. "L.J.?"

The nickname, still a little tentative when she said it, made him smile in the dark. "Yeah?"

"When this slows down, we have a lot to talk about."

"Yeah, we do," he agreed, keeping his tone light. He was looking forward to that talk. Quite a lot. He pulled into the drive and rolled down the window as security stopped him. "Agent Gibbs, Agent Todd," he spoke smoothly, showing his credentials. They were waved on in before Kate had needed to show hers. Which was good, since he realized hers were in her go bag sitting in the back seat. "I grabbed your bag from your locker," he spoke up. "You have a new phone in there, too. I put my number in."

"I know your number," she replied, a hint of amusement in her voice. It was the last thing she said before they stopped and began the walk to the imposing front door.

He shouldered her light bag, quietly greeting Jen's housekeeper at the door and leading the way as she indicated, down the hall.

Jen met them halfway down the hall, already dressed for the day and looking very together. Behind him, he could practically feel Kate's discomfort. Kate took pride in looking neat and professional. Right now, much as he enjoyed the mussed hair and rumpled shirt, she was definitely feeling out of place. "Agent Todd, I have a room ready. I'm sure you're tired."

"Yes," she answered, straightening a little as Gibbs stepped aside and let her follow their host. "Thank you, Director, I really appreciate this."

"Of course," Jenny answered, "It's good to have you back in D.C." She turned toward her ex-partner, giving him a once over. "Are you staying, Jethro?"

He shook his head and gave small, tight small. "No, just wanted to get Kate settled." He glanced between both women, eyes softening as he nodded to Kate and handed over the tube of analgesic. "I'll check in later."

Jenny was looking between the two of them again, that _look_ on her face that he knew well. The one where she was certain she knew what was going on but was still waiting to feel things out, to see what a suspect might say. Well, she was going to have a long wait because right now, he wasn't saying another word.


	22. Chapter 22

_Well, the last half was particularly challenging to write. Enjoy reading, review away and thank you, as always for the faithful reviews so far. You're all very generous…And apologies again about the run together sentences in italics on the last chapter. Hopefully I catch them all this go around. Something about fanfic's convertor doesn't like spaces between words. Go figure._

Tony leaned wearily against the elevator, scrubbing his face with his palms as the elevator rose. It had taken hours to get the scene processed, and then had followed the pissing match for jurisdiction and evidence, not to mention the body. The LEOs hadn't wanted to give up one of their own, and he had been about a minute away from handcuffing himself to the body bag when they finally relented.

It was bad when he was fantasizing about being in a bed and doing nothing but passing out into a long sleep. Right now that was nothing but a fantasy. A cup of coffee—or twenty—was going to have to tide him over.

The metal doors clanked open, revealing a still mostly empty bullpen and a certain McProbie frantically clacking away at his computer.

He waited until he was almost exactly behind their youngest team member before tossing his repacked go bag onto his desk and barking, "Where's the boss?"

To his disappointment, McGee barely jerked in his seat. "Uh, MTAC. Hang on a sec…"

"Come on, I froze half the night and had to ride back with a LEO that could give Ducky a run for his money in the chatty Cathy department." With a hard stare, he reached for the other agent's coffee and took a healthy swig before promptly spitting every drop of it back in the mug. "Ugh, cold."

"Yeah, well, it's from yesterday morning."

Tony glanced around their area, his gaze falling on Kate's empty desk. He shuddered when he realized, again, how close they came to never seeing her there anymore. There were too many close calls lately—his with the pneumonic plague, Gibbs nearly getting killed by Ari, Kate taking the bullet, and the fall out from that… "C'mon, bring me up to speed here. Where'd he stash Kate? Upstairs? MTAC? Doesn't get more secure than that."

McGee's head shook. "He didn't say, other than a safe house. He's got agents with her. Rule 4."

"Who? He didn't send Ziva?"

"Not right now. I think some of her service friends. They showed up here the other day, pretty protective of her, wanted to help out."

"Yeah, well, Gibbs sort of redefines protective when it comes to Kate," Tony murmured, leaning into his team mate's personal space. "There's a thing going on with them, Probie."

McGee's eyes rolled. "Tony, you always say crap like that. If Kate was here, she'd tell you to think with your other brain."

"Maybe, but it's true. Just because it's naughty doesn't mean it isn't true. Our Agent Todd isn't quite as prim and proper as we think." He gave a sly wink to the other agent, before his expression straightened and sobered in the blink of an eye. "Come on, update!"

"McGee, DiNozzo, talk!"

Both men straightened instantly as their boss materialized at the bottom of the steps and quickly crossed the distance toward them.

"Looks like two rounds in your sheriff, boss," Tony automatically answered, eyes flickering the length of the steps, his mind whirling as he tried to guesstimate the distance, how long it took Gibbs to descend and exactly how much of his comment to McGee that Gibbs might have overheard. The cool blue eyes boring into him didn't give much away. Just because Gibbs looked pissed didn't necessarily mean it was directed at him … pissed and/or silent were Gibbs's two primary modes of operation.

Their leader stepped closer, eyes narrowing. "_looks __like_?"

"Pro job," Tony quickly filled in. "Single shot to the head was messy. Probably the main kill shot. Splatter, and I'll spare you the details but Ducky's up to his eye balls in it… anyway, splatter was consistent with that as the first shot. The second wasn't as bad, straight to the chest, up close, to finish it off. Burn marks on the shirt are consistent with close range shot. Killer knew what he was doing. Earlier yesterday I met the guy, the sheriff, he talked about a many who'd been seen around town. Middle eastern. Description fits Ziva's suspect."

"McGee? Anything on Kate's sketch?"

"Abby came in early, she's running it through facial recognition. I haven't heard anything… Uh, I could call…" When their probie caught their leader's glare, he scrambled from his chair. "I'll just run down and see. She's running aliases, too, on Al-Assar and Subrinka, along with Tamir."

"You do that, McGee," Gibbs growled as their youngest team member practically tripped over his own feet in his haste to leave.

Tony was just reaching for his coffee cup when Gibbs pulled it from him. "Boss, you know more than anyone that coffee's the most important meal of the day."

It almost earned him a smile. He could see the twinkle in the old man's eye. "Not as important as a few hours of sleep."

He could kiss the man. Almost. Had he been Abby, he would have bowled over their boss with a hug. DiNozzos had a little more propriety. A little. "Seriously? Don't tease me."

"A few hours, grab the mat in Abby's lab. You're no good to me sleep deprived."

"Thanks, boss," he murmured, making a beeline for the elevators.

"DiNozzo?"

Tony held up his phone. "I know, it stays on." When there was no reply, he turned back to his leader.

"I was gonna say good job. You got the body released."

"Oh… thanks, Boss." Taking the victory and so relieved he could almostcry, Tony slapped the button for the lab and let his eyes close as he relaxed against the side of the elevator.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS* NCIS

It was always late when Jennifer Sheppard arrived home, but she was feeling it more and more these days. Despite many advantages to growing older, she had to admit that she did not like the toll her work hours cost her. She knew her housekeeper would be long gone, although a sandwich or something to eat would be waiting in her refrigerator, however she had no idea were her house guest would be.

House guest. Well that was certainly the politically correct term for Agent Todd. Also technically correct term. For a half moment, she wondered what Jethro would call it. And then she pushed away that thought. It was a closed book, and she was determined to keep the volume of history labeled _Leroy __Jethro __Gibbs_ tucked away on the shelf.

She had known, when she left him the letter, that she was making a mistake. And when she saw them taking him away in cuffs on that street in Paris and their eyes met, for that brief second, she had known for sure that it was over then. She was too focused on her job back then, too busy working to rise through the ranks. And now she is busy and focused still, focused on a certain French Frog. _La __Grenouille._ She thinks "frog" is too nice a word to use to describe the man, not to mention the slur. She never understood why French were crudely referred to as "frogs." It never seemed to fit. Jethro would tell her it was foolish, but she wasn't sure he would understand.

No, that wasn't true. He would understand, but she didn't trust herself to find the right words to explain. There was too much history there, and she wasn't opening it...

When she came face to face with him in the middle of MTAC the other week, she could privately admit that she did feel a small rush again. But his eyes were cool, collected, and he wore his Marine mask well. Lately, he appeared consumed only with Ari and the fall out with his team. She'd seen him driven in the past, but nothing like this. Protective of his team, always, but protective toward Caitlin Todd in a way that redefined the word.

Before Jen had fully realized it, she was down the hallway toward her den, seeking the somber comfort of dark leather and jazz. She stopped short at the sight of an agent sitting outside the partially shut door. "Hello."

"Good evening, Director," the man greeted quietly.

"Is Agent Todd in there?"

He nodded. "Sleeping on the couch for the last two hours."

Oh. She didn't have any rules regarding rooms that Kate could or couldn't use. Of course, she wasn't worried about the agent sneaking into her master bedroom or anything like that, but the den was her place to unwind after a long day. Well, she would have to get her drink and book and take it to her room tonight. "I'll just slip in to grab a few things," she murmured, scowling at herself for feeling the need to explain her actions to the agent posted at the door. _This __is _your _home._

Kate Todd rested on her side, slightly curled around a pillow that Jen guessed was to support the ribs. Jen was sympathetic- she'd cracked a few ribs of her own over the years, none of them had been fun. Someone, most likely her housekeeper, had started a fire, which Jen suspected the agent outside had maintained. It warmed the room comfortably and was the only light.

Silently, she crossed the room to the far side where she kept a small wet bar. A little cognac, some scotch, and even a bit of bourbon. She never touched the scotch. It had sat there for more years than she cared to remember, but it wasn't hers. Tonight is a cognac night, and she sets down the glass quietly and is extra careful when she sets the ice cubes into the bottom of the glass and pours.

The soft rustle was the only warning before Kate bolted up, her weapon trained on Jen faster than Jen could have pulled her own. She hadn't seen Kate moving until the gun was drawn.

"God," Kate sighed, instantly lowering her weapon and clicking the safety back into place. One hand scrubbed at her eyes and she blinked owlishly in the firelight. "What time is it?"

"Nearly ten," Jen replied, finishing off her drink preparations and deciding she needed a good swallow before she could continue this conversation. "Drink?"

The dark head shook. "No, thank you." Kate shifted carefully, shifting until she was relaxed against the back of the couch, no longer occupying its whole length. "Actually, I can leave you if you'd like. I'm sure you use this room a lot."

Jen blinked in surprise, glancing around the room and spotting the tell tale signs. There were several books in various stages of reading, a few benign notes, and usually by the end of the night there was an empty tumbler. Several warm throws were scattered around the room, and her house shoes were tucked by the far end of the couch. "You're free to use this room, Kate."

"Thanks," she murmured.

The room was growing a little uncomfortable, tension thickening the air. Jen lifted the decanter. "You're sure you wouldn't like a drink?"

Kate's head shook again. "No, after everything that's happened, I'm paranoid about mixing medicine with alcohol."

"Oh, of course," Jen mentally shook herself. "Did you get something to eat? I'm sure Olivia left something-"

"Thanks, but I had some soup earlier," Kate answered, shifting again, obviously as uncomfortable with the situation as she was. "Look, I know the circumstances are unusual, but I can look after myself enough to make some soup or whatever, and other than a few extra people around, we should be okay. I do appreciate the safe house, but ... Anyway ... um ..." Kate seemed to have lost her own point, and Jen wasn't sure what she could do to help. "This is awkward."

The elder woman nodded idly, acknowledging that last point. Yes. It definitely was awkward. "This probably wasn't the best time to get hurt and have to forego alcohol."

Kate shook her head. "No, it wasn't." Amber eyes searched the director as she relaxed a little more. "You have a long history with Gibbs."

Jen nodded wryly. "You could say that. You know I started with him at NCIS."

"He mentioned that."

"We were partners for several years, most of it classified." She glanced to the younger woman, "But I'm sure you already knew that, too."

"Isn't everything classified when it comes to him?"

It made Jen laugh, and she wasn't expecting that. The woman sitting in her den had been shot at numerous times, lost several weeks of memory, drugged and nearly killed, and... she definitely had a sense of humor. Good. Jethro needed some laughter. He was far too seriously, and frankly she had been even more serious and focused than he was back then... It was why they occasionally clashed, much like she heard Agents Todd and DiNozzo often did. When she had asked Gibbs last week why he tolerated actions in DiNozzo that could be described, at the nicest, as rash and unwise... well, her former partner had answered _"He'll __grow __out __of __it. __Or __at __least __Franks __always __swore __I __would."_

The quiet settled around them again, and Kate was watching her closely. "Is this going to be a problem?"

Now that was an interesting question. If anything was going on between Jethro and Kate, it really wasn't any of her business. From the work standpoint, Jethro had always been capable of keeping the workplace professional. If it went bad, there would be fall out. There always was. But they wouldn't be the first nor the last couple at NCIS, and in the past even a few agents worked together even though they were married to one another. Gibbs's rules aside, there were no official rules against it. "Is it a problem for you, Agent Todd?" Their history.

The younger woman studied her another moment before shaking her head. "I don't see any problems here."

A hundred replies were racing through Jen's mind, but she merely nodded in agreement. _Just __don__'__t __hurt __him. __Too __many __of __us __have __hurt __him._


	23. Chapter 23

_Yet another of those 'where did that come from' chapters that I didn't mean to write, but here it is and it works well. I've written over 19,000 words this month. Woah! I own nothing, and reviews make the season merry & bright. Read on, Kibblets! _

"Are you going to tell me anything?" Kate asked quietly from her perch on a bar stool. She was as alone with Gibbs as she could get right now, which meant an agent was stationed down the hall and out of sight. Their director was... well, she had left them and slipped off in the direction of the study and her master bedroom.

He sipped some more coffee, his hand reaching out to give her knee a comforting squeeze. "Yeah. We found a withdrawl from a bank north of Stillwater under one of Tamir's aliases. No activity since. He withdrew enough to keep him for a while, and he could make it just about anywhere in the mean time."

"When did he make the purchase?"

"Within an hour or so of Ducky's estimated time of death for Ed."

Stillwater's sheriff. She still felt uneasy about the man and his comments to her in Jackson's store, but she didn't exactly think he deserved to die for that.

"What is it?" Gibbs asked, rounding the bar and stepping closer toward her.

She made a face before meeting his eyes. "He made some weird comments to me. In the store."

"He hit on you?" It was that tone that always made her shiver a little. Fierce and dangerous. The tone she always hated hearing directed toward her. The tone that meant a suspect was going down and going down hard.

Kate nodded solemnly. "Doesn't matter now." The quiet was thickening between them, and she hated- _hated_- awkward moments. Maybe it was because she grew up in such a large family, where someone always filled the weird quiet pauses. Usually one of her brothers with a belch or passing gas. Then again, maybe there was something to be said for enjoying an awkward silence.

"Kate?"

She shook her head slightly as though to clear it.

"You okay?" He nodded toward the general direction in which the director has retreated a good fifteen minutes ago before greeting him.

"Peachy," she muttered. At his raised eyebrows, she shrugged. "What did you expect? To walk in and find we'd painted each other's nails and given each other back rubs and were plotting a makeover for the bullpen?"

He gave a small laugh. "No. But put in something for repainting the bullpen, huh?"

Her nose wrinkled. "The orange _is_pretty bad." She turned carefully on the stool, shifting until she faced away from the bar. Had they been at his place, she would be perched on the kitchen counter. Somehow sitting on the counter here seemed too casual, almost disrespectful.

A soft brush of his body against hers brought her from her thoughts, and she looked up in surprise as he stepped closer yet. His arms slid around her, resting lightly against the small of her back. "Um… Gibbs?"

"Yeah, Katie?" he breathed, lips at her ear, barely brushing the shell of it as his hand stroked her lower back.

She felt the shiver travel through her, breath catching when she remembered there was exactly one layer between them—her long sleeved shirt. Kate could feel his fingers rubbing along the hem of said shirt. "I … we shouldn't…"

"Shouldn't what?" he murmured, amusement in his voice as he leaned slightly, warm lips pressing to her neck and ghosting a kiss over the soft skin.

Her mind went blank for a moment at the warmth and the gentleness of him. She was melting on the spot, and she hoped there was a shop vac somewhere to suck up the puddle that was about to be Kate Todd. "Gibbs," she protested, breath catching again as one hand slid under the hem and traced over bare skin. Her bare skin. God, the things this man could do to her. _No. __No__ '__doing__' __anything. __Shut__up. __Don__'__t __go __there. __Not __going __there!_

"Hmm?" he hummed, lips pressing to hers slowly, the pressure gradually increasing until she couldn't resist the urge to let her lips part, the kiss amping up for a long heated moment.

They shouldn't. But they were, and she knew it wasn't a good idea. Why shouldn't it be a good idea? _Director!_ Her brain finally screamed, and she pulled back with a gasp, catching her breath and reaching behind her to pull his hands back. "Okay… Okay, I'm _not_ making out with you in the director's kitchen," she protested.

"I thought I was making out with you," he teased.

She slid from the stool and stepped back, needing desperately to have space between them. Her lips tingled slightly from their shared kiss, and Kate would swear she could still feel his hand on her back. God, she was going to have to take a cold shower or something. "I haven't been caught since I was nineteen and the student dean walked in on me making out with… Anyway, _not __happening._ I'm sorry, it's not that I don't want it… I can't deal with this right now, too, and it—"

His finger came up, a single finger pressing very lightly against her lips. "Sssh, I hear you. I'm stopping." His expression was apologetic, but she could still read the glint of icy passion in his baby blues.

Thank God he understood because right now she was not in a position to explain any further. A part of her—a very big part of her—wanted to give into it. But no way was it happening, or anything more than what had happened was going to happen here.

"Katie, stop over thinking this. You were right."

It broke her from her thoughts, and she let his arm slide around her, drawing her alongside him and toward the hall. They paused at the coat closet for her jacket and he let the agent know they were going out back for a few.

The cool air was crisp, and it made her feel a little more alert, a little less dull than she had felt the last day or so. "I want to go back to work," she said quietly as they walked through the expansive back yard area that was more like grounds than exactly a yard.

"I'm doing my best to get you back there," he answered. "I have some more material for you to look through. We need a little more profiling."

She glanced up at him. "You have dozens of profilers."

Gibbs nodded, acknowledging her point. "Do you want me to give it to someone else?" He stopped and turned toward her, hands resting lightly on her shoulders.

"I don't know what I want," she answered, voice rising in irritation. "Rachel's worried it's causing more stress and thinks that is why I'm not remembering things, she says I need distance. I don't know!... I just want this to be over with. I want us to have time to do whatever. To talk. It's.. I'm stressed and freaking, okay? And I know you're gonna say that you're doing what you can. I know. I appreciate it, I do. But I'm here and there and in a hospital and at your place but we can't talk or anything, and I'm still half drugged, and I'm in Stillwater, and now I'm _here._"

He took one of her hands, the one that wasn't gesturing frantically and chaffed it lightly between his, warming it.

She sighed in irritation. This man. He would say things she didn't like. Just the words she didn't want to hear, when she didn't want to hear them. And then when she _did_ want him to speak… this. Silence. _Functional __mute_ as DiNozzo called it. "You're not gonna say anything?"

"You said it for me," he replied, trying to keep the slight amusement out of his voice but not succeeding. "C'mere." His free hand lifted, one finger crooking in a gesture meant to coax her forward.

This man was so infuriating. Even when she wanted to stay mad at him, she couldn't. Kate was sure she had never really been in love before. Oh, there were crushes. Dates. Boyfriends. There was puppy love and lust and a lot of liking… but love. She'd never been able to honestly use that word to describe anyone but her family. It seemed to be creeping its way into her thoughts a lot lately.

His arms wrapped protectively around her, drawing her to his chest. It was wholly different from the way he had pulled her close in the kitchen. This was purer and comforting, his heartbeat against her ear and his chin resting atop her head. The steady thudding was calming her, and she felt her body relax against his. "Did you sleep last night?"

"Crashed," she murmured, yawning hugely. "Still tired."

"I bet," he replied, his head shifting slightly and she felt the light pressure of his lips against her hair.

"Ah…. Excuse me, sir?"

Kate started, but his arms held her gently in place, keeping her against him. She knew he had heard footsteps long before the voice spoke.

Will was shifting slightly, his expression apologetic. "We had a report of suspicious activity out front." Before he could even suggest moving inside, Gibbs was already hustling them through the back door.

"Everything locked down?"

"Yes, sir," the agent replied. "We've cleared Agent Todd's room, the director's, and we're finishing out the house. Grounds are under lock down."

Gibbs nodded. "I'm going to escort you to your room, and I'm staying the night."

Her mouth gaped slightly at the words. She knew he didn't mean it like it sounded, but it came out…

"I'll sleep on the couch in the adjoining room." It was the slightly uncomfortable reminder that he knew this house. He had definitely been here before, and she didn't want to dwell on that thought. It was a fact and an artifact of his past. _Be __glad __it__'__s __useful __in __keeping __you __safe __and __keeping __him __close._

"I'll let the detail know you'll be around, sir," were Will's last words before slipping into the next rooms and continuing to clear them with his team.

One agent was waiting outside her room, and she opened the door for them, nodding politely before settling into the chair in the hallway and letting them have their privacy.

It didn't surprise Kate in the least that Gibbs slipped in before her, clearing the suite methodically for himself. She merely went to work brushing her teeth, taking a few moments in the bathroom and finally climbing into the bed. Halfway into bed she felt her thigh muscles spasm painfully, and she cursed loudly, body writhing.

"Kate?"

"Cramp!" she yelped, struggling for a moment before yielding to the firm hand resting just behind her knee. "OW!"

The agent was in the room a moment later, her weapon half cleared. "Ma'am?"

"I'm fine—not _fine_," Kate hissed. "Charley horse."

Her agent nodded and gave one glance to Gibbs before slipping back into the hall and closing the door behind her.

"Try to relax," he murmured, voice even as he straightened her leg and worked it slowly. "Better?"

She nodded, taking a slow breath as the ache ebbed and began to ease. "Thanks… been crampy all day." Kate flushed just a little at the admission, silently reminding herself that between his wives and coworkers, it wasn't a new concept to him. She wasn't expecting him to help her under the covers and dim the lights, or for his hands to urge her gently onto her side, supported by a pillow.

Her face turned into the pillow, she muffled a small groan as his fingers worked into the tense muscles.

"Sssh, don't want our friend coming back in here and wondering what I'm doing to you."

"Can keep doing it forever," she murmured before coloring slightly as she realized exactly how that sounded.

He chuckled softly. "Relax and enjoy it. Don't fight sleep."

"Only if you promise to get _some_ kind of sleep tonight."

"I will," he promised, pressing another soft kiss into her hair before his hands began working slowly against her back, lulling her gradually to sleep.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

She wasn't sure what time it was when she woke, only that it was dark and she still a lot of sleep left to fit into her night. A warm hand was resting against her back, and she took a moment to enjoy the soft inhale and exhale of her companion.

He was sleeping. Finally. God knew he needed it.


	24. Chapter 24

_Aaah! My life is insane! Work and personal stuff have me going all the time. The next chapter may be the wrap up to all of this. Of course, I never saw this going past 4 or so chapters, and we're on 24. Enjoy, feedback is always so cherished. Thank you all for reading so faithfully. I'm updating as fast as my schedule allows me._

Gibbs could name many things he was expecting to see when he arrived on scene. Ziva's message had been a calm, "you need to come to my hotel. Bring your things for evidence." Her voice had been mild, almost bored.

When he stepped from the stairwell, he could hear the raised voices. At the cross hall, he realized why.

"I didn't _do_ anything! I swear. I swear I didn't!"

Ziva had a young hotel worker pinned on the floor, his wrists bound firmly behind his back. He was lying prone, her knee resting squarely on his back. The faint scent of urine filtered through the air.

It was unnerving—the way the Israeli woman held the man, who was tall and probably a good one hundred eighty pounds, firmly in place as though she were enjoying leisurely afternoon at the park. Her utter calmness about the whole matter surprised him, and he had been a sniper.

"Office David?" he asked in a low tone as another hotel employee, presumably the younger man's superior, tried to question the man while he also asked Ziva to let him up.

"As you like," she finally agreed with a differential shrug, standing the grace of a feline and stepping aside. "Perhaps he may soon get a change of clothing, too, yes?"

Behind him, Gibbs could hear a familiar footfall, accompanied by a slight wheezing. "What happened?"

Ziva nodded toward a paper that was resting across the threshold of her hotel room. "I returned to my room, and found him delivering this note. When I asked who sent it, he hesitated and then tried to run." Her eyes narrowed, and she gave the man in question a look of contempt. "He did not get far."

"Excuse me," the other man cut in, taking a half step back when Ziva's glare turned on him. "I… I'm sorry, but there must be some kind of mistake… I… we have a very thorough process for selecting out employees, and I don't understand what.—"

Gibbs crooked a finger. "McGee, tweezers." He pulled the familiar pair of gloves from his pocket and slipped them on. His probie had the tweezers waiting, and he bent, carefully flipping the paper. Across it was scrawled something in Hebrew. At least he was fairly sure it was Hebrew. It certainly wasn't Greek or Cyrillic script. "Translation?"

"_Kadur __Toran_," came the low reply, her gaze flickering between the men present. "I am a target."

The team leader nodded toward his agent. "McGee, start processing the room. Call up Wells and bring his team in on this." Gibbs reached down and hauled Ziva's would be culprit to his feet. "You're coming to NCIS with us. I'm taking this note to Abby."

"I… I didn't do anything. I _swear_," the man protested again, eyes wide in fear at the direct look he was getting from both Gibbs and Ziva. "Can't I at least get a changes of clothes?" he added meekly, clearly embarrassed and unable to even attempt to hide the stain on the front of his trousers.

Gibbs nodded down the hallway. "If what you say is true, our forensics will clear you." He glanced to McGee. "Read him his rights while I talk with Officer David."

Ziva gave him a hard look before stepping down the hall with him. Before he could say a word, she pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen. "You think he is telling the truth?" She handed over the pad.

He shrugged, eyes skimming the words. _It __is __possible __I __am __being __tracked. __Someone __may __be __listening __in._ "Maybe." He took the pad and scribbled out his own reply, _How __much __of __a __target __are __you?_ "Are you coming back with us?"

She read the reply quickly, her voice casual as she replied, "I suppose so. I cannot get into my room with your team processing it, no?" Ziva wrote fast, _The __phrase __he __wrote __means __there __is __a __bullet __that __is __for __me. __Even __in __Israel __I __would __not __be __safe. __I __am __ready __to __end __this._

"You can listen in on the interview. Shot gun is yours." _So __am __I. __Use __the __tracking __in __our __favor. __You__'__re __going __to __join __Kate._ He was taking a risk, and he knew it. But they were all sick of playing this cat and mouse game. Despite everything with Ziva's ties to Mossad and her sibling connection to Ari, his gut was saying to trust her. To do this. DiNozzo would be with them, and while he was aware of the skills of the Mossad, he trusted his team. Kate and Tony could hold their own with her. Besides that, it was at Jen's. Jenny could handle Ziva.

She nodded toward the note in understanding before pausing, confusion settling across her features. "Shotgun? I am to ride a firearm?"

"The front passenger seat," he answered, almost smiling at the significance of the work. Yes, she was going to be their shotgun on this one. "In the west, an armed man rode with the driver, with a shot gun. Protection. Grab your friend and let's go."

Her mouth twisted in a grimace. "Perhaps my understanding of 'friend' is also off," she muttered before grabbing her suspect's arm. "Walk, slowly. Try anything, and you will regret it."

The man nodded hard, swallowing and keeping in step with them, the first into the elevator. "Y-yes, ma'am."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"Morning, Sunshine!" Tony called cheerfully, stepping into the living room and pulling the drapes open wide. He turned to the next set of windows, pulling them open just as wide. "C'mon, Kate. The day's going on strong. Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!"

Amber eyes narrowed, and she glared at him. "I almost had a mid-morning nap going," Kate protested, tossing a throw pillow at him.

"Gibbs sent over some light reading material," he answered, nodding to a stack of files that he set on a table when he had first entered the room to find her stretched out on the sofa, her eyes then closed. "What's the matter, didn't get enough sleep?"

Her head shook slightly, and she sat up to rouse herself. "A little. What are those files?"

"Soon to be profiles," Tony answered, shooing her feet from the end of the sofa and claiming it. "Sounds like a long night. I heard Gibbs stayed," he added, implication in his voice.

"Who told you that?" she scoffed, unwilling to confirm anything, but her evasiveness gave him his answer.

He shrugged. "Agents talk, Kate. You know that." One hand reached out, cupping under her arm as she attempted to stand. Tony wasn't stupid—he knew it was mean to bait her like this, to dig under her skin. Most people would look at this and assume he was a bastard, and maybe they were the littlest bit right about it… but he knew that Kate was worn down, mentally ground down from the stress of this case. The one that had her at the center. He wanted to bring her out fighting. Flashing his best smirk, he eased her to her feet and pressed. "So I heard he stayed the night."

Her healing injury gave him just enough time to brace for the worst of it, but God did it still hurt. Moments later, Tony found himself doubled over the arm of the couch, trying to remember what breathing was, hands instinctively covering himself. Not that it helped now. His phone rang, but he was sure he couldn't answer it right now. There were no words.

Kate snatched it from the edge of his pocket and flipped it open. "Agent Todd."

Tony tried to protest, to demand she give the phone back, but only a little whimper came out. He flushed hotly—DiNozzos did _not_ whimper. Although the creed might make exception for this. If nothing else, he was never more grateful that he had no plans to have any little mini-DiNozzos. Kate had pretty much seen to that a few moments ago.

"Gibbs, are you sure?"

Of all of the conversations to miss… He took a slow breath, trying to convince himself it was okay. God, if he had to see Ducky about this one… No way, not happening. Suffer in silence on this one.

Kate sighed and held out the phone, pressing it against his ear. "It's for _you_."

"B-boss?" Tony managed to squeak, wincing and shifting in an attempt to look like he could sit up normally.

"Ziva's coming. You don't leave Kate alone. She uses the head, you clear the room and wait at the door. I don't want another Pacci."

Their former friend's name caught him by surprise, and he swallowed hard, knowing how serious this meant. Tony took a slow breath, finally finding his focus. "I swear, boss. They come through me first."

"Good," Gibbs growled. "And DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, Boss?" he asked, glancing up at Kate, who looked a little pale. She had gone from royally pissed to shaken in moments.

"Rattle Kate, and I'll rattle you."

Tony swallowed hard, scowling at the reminder of his coworker's indignation. "You don't have anything to worry about. Kate can hold her own."


	25. Chapter 25

_Well… didn't think it would take me this long to update, and I thought this would be the final chapter. Guess Kate, Gibbs & Tony had other ideas. Merry Christmas and happy holidays, friends. Reviews make everything merry & bright._

"Kate?"

She jerked awake, shocked to realize she had fallen asleep in the bathtub. With a sigh, she sank under the water for half a moment before pushing herself up above the surface. "I'm _fine_," she called, her voice edgy. Honestly, what did he expect? There wasn't a window or any other way into the room except for an air vent that was much too small to let a person pass through. The only way in or out was through the door. The door he currently guarded.

Relaxing wasn't going to happen. Okay, in all fairness, she had relaxed enough to fall asleep. It wasn't surprising that he had managed to wake her yet again from a nap. Not that she would admit it. It would only lead to more teasing about what had kept her up the night before.

Kate reached for a washcloth and the soap, making quick work of the remainder of her bath. She moved stiffly, her ribs still annoyingly tender to movement. The night before. It had been a big, fat, boring nothing that kept her awake. At first she had crashed, then woke later to find Gibbs wrapped against her back. That had been nice. Comforting. She wondered how much more sleep she would have gotten in Stillwater with his... yeah, that wouldn't have happened. Kate was blushing at the idea of sharing any kind of bed with Gibbs with Jackson around.

Regardless, once she woke to find him asleep and near, she couldn't relax for a while after. At first, she tried to relax muscle groups, tried meditating, even counting backward from one hundred. When she was small, counting always did the trick. She wasn't small any more.

It still bothered her that she had battled insomnia.

_The chest behind her rose steadily, his breath barely audible with each inhale and exhale. An arm wrapped loosely around her middle- comforting and protective without smothering. She moved the littlest bit, holding her breath for a moment and hoping she didn't wake Gibbs._

_He shifted, arm curling a little closer, but didn't stir. This was nice, she decided, but she couldn't get back to sleep. Idly, Kate wondered if it was because there was an agent guarding the hall and throughout the home. If it was because it was the director's home. Would she be like this if they were at his place? If they were at her place? _

'Most women prefer their own bed,' _the words came to her unbidden, and she shifted again, wondering if that held true for her any longer. Up until recently, she would have agreed. Even with Tim, the one with whom she had seriously considered settling down with, she had preferred her place. It was the home turf, and she never had to wonder where to put her things or what drawers or cabinets held personal items._

_But now... Kate started a little, suddenly realizing that she hadn't even been to her place since it had been invaded. She felt uncomfortable about the whole thing, she felt violated, truth be told. _

_No, she would prefer his place, hands down. Even if he never locked the doors, the thought of being there with him was much more appealing than trying to return her apartment to some semblance of a home. Not that she was going to admit it to anyone, not even Gibbs. Still... she hoped he would offer to stay a night with her at least. If he offered, she wasn't even going to do their little dance where she insisted she would be okay and he would give her the look, she'd insist she was fine, look again, and then she'd cave. No. This time she would say yes from the beginning._

_"Katie," a deep voice, heavy with sleep rumbled in her ear. His arm slid back a little, hand stroking her upper arm in comfort. "You okay?"_

_She shrugged silently, trying to decide if she would rather he keep stroking her arm and spooning her, or if she'd rather turn and rest her head against his chest. "Um… tired, but can't sleep."_

"_C'mere," Gibbs murmured, helping her turn carefully. As she started to settle, he urged her head against him and pressed a warm kiss to her forehead. His arms wrapped around her, rubbing her back gently. "Wanna talk about it?"_

_Kate shook her head slightly. "Brain won't shut off. A lot happened so fast." She shifted a little, her hand coming to rest tentatively on his chest. "You should sleep. I don't want to keep you up."_

"_Talk, Katie."_

_Again she shook her head, this time relaxing and listening the steady thud of his heartbeat. "Later. You need some sleep."_

"_So do you," he murmured drowsily, rubbing her back again. _

"Kate?"

She sighed in frustration and answered with an edge in her voice. "Right _here_," she ground out. "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute." Kate wasn't sure who she wanted to strangle right now—Gibbs for ordering Tony to stay with her all day long, or Tony for following orders for once.

About and hour ago, she had decided she wanted to take a bath. After Tony cleared the room, she slipped in and twisted the lock shut. If a protectee had tried that move on her, she would have been pissed. Right now, she only wanted a few more minutes of privacy. In all fairness to her, she _had_ needed a bath.

She reached for the drain twisting it and watching the water begin to whirl downward. Carefully, she shifted and got to her feet, reaching for the towel and drying off efficiently. Kate wasn't looking forward to having to find another way to spend the afternoon. It was frustrating that she couldn't get a handle on the information Gibbs had left for her. The profile was sketchy at best, and it was largely because of lack of information. What was more, her side was aching more than usual, probably because of the storm fronts building, but she wasn't about to take her pain medicine.

The whole medication switch had thrown her, and she hadn't really liked pain medication to begin with. Right now, it felt like a liability. Yes, she trusted Tony to protect her. He might be an overgrown frat boy, but he knew how to keep her safe. He _had_ kept her safe plenty of times in the past.

But they were staying here with Ziva, who had arrived a few hours ago. It felt very much like a fox in the hen house. She would have to tell Gibbs that one later—he would appreciate it. When this was all over with, when she could go back to her job. To her life.

She could hear Tony in the hallway again, stepping closer to the door. With a sigh of irritation, she dressed and wrenched open the door. Kate knew she shouldn't take out all of her anger and stress on Tony, but she was doing it anyway. Hadn't he done the same to her time and time again? It was easier to be angry than deal with the slew of emotions that she knew were lurking under its mask. The profiler in her made her be at least honest with herself.

But it didn't stop her words. "God, DiNozzo, you can't give me a few minutes of privacy?"

"Gibbs would be pretty pissed if you fell down the drain," he answered smoothly, eyebrow quirking with all the bathroom humor of a third grader as he emphasized _pissed_.

She growled something under her breath, glaring at him. The only thing worse than dealing with Tony when she was angry was when he didn't take the bait. He knew exactly what she was doing, and it seemed he was refusing to play the game. Silently she debated how well a verbal argument with Ziva would go before one or both of them threw a punch.


	26. Chapter 26

_Countdown to the conclusion! I have another good chapter in me to wrap this all up. Possibly two, we'll see how it plays out. Thank you all so much for your faithful reading & those who comment. I promise, I write as fast as I can, and I post updates as soon as I can get them out (working without a beta, as I'm sure some of you have noticed). Reviews make the new year happy. Hope to wrap this up within the week. Happy reading!_

With a vast three hours of experience under her belt, Ziva David could say with certainty that being under protection was not for her. After they brought the man from the hotel back to the Navy Yard, Ziva had watched the entire interrogation. Unfortunately, Gibbs was right—the young man knew nothing. He had stuttered and talked himself into circles.

"_Look, I swear, I _swear_, I didn't do anything except deliver that note. I don't even know who put it in the mail or anything. It just said the room number and was marked urgent." He squirmed in his seat, palm rubbing against his forehead, which was beaded with nervous sweat. _

_Gibbs leaned back in his chair as though he had the entire day to spend. "Nothing here, either?" he asked casually, motioning to the pictures he had slapped in a row earlier. Tamir and their two other rogue agents._

_The oily head shook slowly. "I wish I did. If I knew anything, I'd tell you. Okay, I admit, sometimes I've taken a few paperclips from work. I… I make shapes out of them, you know, when we're slow at the front desk. But it was like a … a … a handful, and I'll buy a new box and stuff to replace them. And a couple of times guests didn't want to take home some of the free stuff the hotel gives them—chocolates or the nice flute wine glasses—and I took them when they offered, even though technically we're not supposed to. But e-everybody does that, and I'll give those back."_

_Gibbs shook his head and gathered up his things. He stood with the file, crossed the room and gave their suspect a hard look. It earned another confession to borrowing his father's car when he was sixteen without permission, and he was promptly dismissed._

Ziva sighed and slipped out the side door, giving the agent stationed just outside a short nod of recognition. This home and these grounds had some history about them. Not the sort of history of her homeland—where everything went back thousands of years and past ages of paper and scrolls. Still, she knew there was something about family and heritage here, and she wondered if Jenny might share someday. She would never ask directly—Jenny did not pry into her family when they worked together, and Ziva would extend the same courtesy. One did wonder, though…

"Office David," came the wary greeting, as Tony leaned against a low wall and watched Agent Todd walking a good twenty feet away.

She nodded in response, following his gaze. "Should you be minding her, yes?"

He turned back to her, brow wrinkling. "I don't mind very well. You should ask my father about that."

Her dark head shook, and she scowled in frustration over this confusing language. "Mind… looking after. I believe Agent Todd feels you look after her like one would a child."

"Oh," Tony shrugged. "You mean like baby sitting?"

"American English," she huffed, her eyes narrowing as they met amused green. "Why ever would one call it 'babysitting?' You do not sit on the baby."

He laughed a little and then shook his head. "I didn't make it up. That's just what they call it." His gaze darted back to his left, to his charge. "And no, I'm not minding or babysitting her. The agents cleared this area before we came out, and we have the perimeter secured. Gibbs told me to clear everything, but he told me not to piss her off, either."

Again, with these expressions that she did not follow. Her brain searched for a definition, dismissing Spanish and _piscina. _"I do not understand."

"Make her angry," came the succinct reply. "I woke her from two naps today, and she's not… accustomed to being looked after."

"She prefers to do the protecting. Secret Service, wasn't it." It wasn't a question. Ziva had read dossiers on all of the members of this team long before she arrived. Back when they first came to her attention, when her father informed her of her brother's status as an increased liability. And perhaps he could now say the same of her. No doubt, she had given him cause to question her loyalties, if nothing else.

The movement to their right caught Ziva's attention and cut off a reply from Tony. For a brief second, her hand strayed to her weapon, before she realized it was merely Kate coming to join them. And in a hurry.

"Tony, I need your phone," she demanded, holding out her hand impatiently.

"For…?" he was pulling it out before she finished her sentence, but she didn't give him an answer. His fingers closed tighter around it. "Kate, who are you calling?"

"You should not call anyone," Ziva couldn't help but add her opinion. It earned her a scathing glance, and she shrugged. "Anyone can trace it, to your location."

Kate pulled on the phone, and Tony gave it up without further resistance. She took it, flipping it open and immediately finding the number as she walked out of ear shot.

Ziva started to protest again, when Agent DiNozzo shook his head. "He's not going to trace it."

"How do you know that?" the Israeli challenged. "She is not the only one using this safe home."

"Safe house," he automatically corrected. "And she's calling the person that sent her here."

"The director?"

"Gibbs."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"Kate?" he asked as soon as he saw the screen light up. "What's wrong?"

"I remembered more," she answered in a quiet voice. "Are you where you can talk?"

"Yeah." She heard a little background noise, but it quickly faded. "Talk."

Kate shifted, her glance going to the pair standing up near the house. Tony and Officer David. Ziva. "It's from when I was in the hospital after hurting my ribs. The man who was pulling the medicines out, the Israeli that Ziva identified. It's probably nothing—"

"You're a trained federal agent. If you remembered it, it isn't nothing," he interrupted. "C'mon, Katie."

"He changed out my wrist band. I was wearing it when we left for Stillwater, and I don't know why, but I crammed it in my bag, and our bags were just brought in about an hour ago—"

"Stay with DiNozzo, I'm coming over there _now_."

She nodded, forgetting for a second that he couldn't see her. Her breath caught, as the reality of danger hit her again. "I don't want to run again. I want to end this."

"I'm not promising that you'll get what you want," he replied. "I want you safe, and that comes first."

"L.J?" she asked quietly, glancing again to the pair who were eyeing each other guardedly.

"I'll get there as fast as I can, Kate."

"It's not that," she murmured, toeing the ground, wishing she had let him hang up. When he pressed her to go on again, she finally said, "I still don't remember hurting my ribs the second time."

"It wasn't worth remembering," came his reply. "Ducky still thinks you'll remember it in time, but even if you don't… you remember what you do, and you remember who we are. That's enough."

"Thanks," she breathed.

"Welcome," were his last soft words before she could hear the sound of a car door shutting through the phone and an engine starting. "Now give me to DiNozzo and do whatever he says. You're not a Secret Service agent on this one."


	27. Chapter 27

_Okay, Kibblets, looks like this is our next to last chapter. Ch 28 should do it. Thanks for all the faithful reading and reviews. Enjoy and happy new year._

He was backing out of the spot when he heard the thud against his car. "On my way! Put DiNozzo on the phone." With a look that could chill hell, Gibbs glared behind him to see their director.

"Where are you going?" Jen shouted, still standing in a way that blocked his exit.

Gibbs growled, reaching across to the passenger's side and shoving open the door. "Get in or move," he demanded.

"Get in?" came his senior field agent's confused voice over the cell.

"Get Kate inside, _now_," he demanded. "Safe house is compromised. Lock it down, I'm on my way. Be ready to move out when we get there. Do _not_ let her out of your sight; do _not let her outside!_" He yanked the gear into reverse now, not even giving Jenny enough time to fully sit and have the door shut before he was rushing out of the parking space and the accelerating out of the parking garage.

"Where are you going?" Jenny pressed, quickly buckling her seatbelt and grabbing onto the doorway to keep from being thrown against the side of the car as he shot out onto the street. "_Jethro_?"

"He was tracking her, Jen," Gibbs ground out, slapping the steering wheel in frustration and powering around a car and onto the highway. Why hadn't he checked everything? _Never take anything for granted, Probie._ It _was_ a probie mistake. "Bastard may already be in the area."

"You really care about her," Jenny murmured, and later he was pretty sure she hadn't even realized she said it aloud.

Yes, he really did care for her. He cared about her more than merely as another agent on his team. For the past years, he had considered his core team to be his family—DiNozzo, Abby, Kate, and Ducky. But as much as he cared about Abby, who was a friend and daughter, there was always something more with Kate. He had known back on Air Force One, and if he hadn't known by then, he would have known when he coaxed her onto the second ride with gum and a _please_. Only a few women had ever gotten a _please_ out of him before. Gibbs wasn't about to lose another one of those few women.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"Inside now," DiNozzo called, pocking his phone and quickly crossing the fifteen feet or so that Kate had wandered. One hand fell automatically to the weapon at his hip, speaking into the mic clipped onto his wrist. "Secure the borders, we're moving inside. I want all areas secured now, we may have been compromised."

Kate moved to the door now, stepping into the house and biting her lip to keep back a protest. The downright stubborn part of her wanted to stay outside and enjoy a little more fresh air, but she knew how incredibly stupid that would be. She had worked more than enough protection detail to know the risks. Even in a supposedly secured location, large open areas were high risk. It was impossible to cover every single angle.

She dropped into a chair at the kitchen nook, eyes darting around to be sure the window blinds and curtains provided maximum cover. They were good. Fingers drummed in a dull thud against the marble surface as she studied the woman pacing in a tight walk in front of her. "It's going to be a while, you might as well make yourself comfortable."

"We are wasting time," Ziva answered, eyes narrowing at Kate. "We should be going by now, or at least setting up the plan."

"Tony is filling in the agents now with whatever plan Gibbs gave him. He'll tell us as soon as he can." It bothered her, too, that she wasn't included in the plans. It was hard to not be the one making decisions, to not have calls to make, and frankly she was growing increasingly irritated that Ziva was only reminding her of her own frustrations. "Take a seat, Officer David."

The dark haired woman paused and turned to face her fully. "You can call me Ziva, you know."

Kate shrugged. "Yes, I know." It was too much of a reminder of her familiarity in address with their last Mossad encounter—Ari. Haswari. The officer should be glad she used a formal title at all. She could think of a few informal monikers to throw out.

"It is strange to hear it so formally all of the time," Ziva continued, finally sliding into a seat. "I was named for my great-grandfather, Ziv. It means 'bright, radiant.' Ironic, no?"

Kate shrugged. She didn't know the woman well enough to say. "Caitlin is Irish. It means 'pure.'"

Ziva pulled a small, square item from her pocket. She set it on the table and fiddled with something before placing a knife on the table. Expertly, she slid the knife from its sheath and lifted the whetstone and scraped it against the blade.

"If you're trying to intimidate me, you know I have my weapon on me," Kate finally said, her voice dull, almost bored with the woman as she glanced to the door again, wondering how long before Tony joined them again. The longer he took, the more serious it was. Already, she could see the agent at the end of the hall was now joining them just inside the kitchen.

"And I have weapons as well," Ziva answered idly. She glanced up to meet narrowed slits of amber. "I clean my weapons to pass the time. It is helpful to keep them in working order. I do not wish to take apart my gun at the moment, so I chose to sharpen the knife. If you have a problem with that… well, then it is your own problem."

Kate's eyebrow arched. "You have more than one gun," she replied coolly. By her count, the Israeli was carrying two guns a two knives, although it was entirely possible that Ziva had another weapon on her person.

"As do you," Ziva replied, not looking up as she slid the stone carefully to the very tip. "Isn't it … unusual for Americans to carry multiple weapons? Most would only carry a handgun, no?"

Kate shrugged. "Perhaps most would, but we aren't most. Rule number nine," she added idly.

Dark brown eyes lifted from her work, fingers pausing. "Rules?"

Kate shrugged. "Gibbs has rules. About fifty of them. Rule number nine is _never go anywhere without a knife_."

"Ah," Ziva replied. "Yes, I learned rules much like that in Mossad."

"You never know when you'll need to defend yourself," Kate agreed, finally relaxing in her chair.

The corner of Ziva's mouth twitched into an ironic smile. "Perhaps in America. In my country, you never know when you will have to disable a bomb."

Kate didn't have a reply to that one. She slipped her own knife free and set it on the table. It seemed they were in for a wait, and she had never liked waiting. To be honest, she wanted to call Gibbs, to talk to him. While she could call him, it would worry him. He was probably already violating most of the traffic laws in a hurry to get back to the house. Besides, she didn't have any privacy to talk. Her eyes fell on the small object that Ziva was still using. "Mind if I borrow the stone?"

Ziva gave her own weapon a final few slides against the stone before tossing it easily toward the NCIS agent. "Yes."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"Gibbs! Where are you?"

He held the phone an extra inch away from his ear as he took a quick right onto the next to last street before reaching Jenny's neighborhood. "I'm not, Abs. I'll have to call you back—"

"Wait, it's important!" Abby exclaimed. "Don't hang up, yet!"

"_Really_ important?" He jerked the steering wheel as they changed lanes, almost overcorrecting and earning him a hard glare from Jenny.

"Yes!"

"You have sixty seconds," he warned.

Abby took a breath, and he steeled himself for the coming rush of words. "Okay, McGee and I are running the security uplink, watching the cameras down here, and we have a breech. McGee's tracing it, but it's not an IP. We're going through satellites, and you know what, you don't need to know all that," she said, words practically running together. "You can't leave her there, Gibbs. You gotta get her out."

"Already on it," he growled. "Get me that trace, I want to shut this down."

"We're on it, Boss-man. I'll call—"

"I know," he interrupted her, accelerating into the neighborhood. "I want that answer." He flipped the phone shut and tossed it to Jenny, coming to a sudden halt at the beginning of the entrance to her property. Once glace from security, and the man quickly jumped aside, waving them in and closing back into place behind them.

Jenny handed over his phone again once the car was in park. "Jethro, they always work as fast as they can, and you know she'll call as soon as she had an answer."

"I know," he repeated. "Anything else worth saying, or can I check on my team now, _director_?" Gibbs gave her a sharp look as he pocketed his phone and took off in a run up to the house.


	28. Chapter 28

_Okay, I feel like a tease because I said this would be the last chapter, but Kate, Ziva, Gibbs & Tony all threw me for a loop and dragged it out with their dialogue. Who knows if it's 1 more chapter or 2. They keep surprising me again and again, and I love writing this (at least when I can manage to get it all in and make it fit and make sense). Reviews are so treasured, thank you all. A little more bonding, some snippets of fluff... enjoy. For those always going on about Tony... I LOVE Tony, even when he has his less nice moments. I would want him covering my protection detail._

Gibbs wanted to find Kate first, but his training took over. He didn't feel the least bit of remorse for leaving Jen sitting in the car. She used to work for him, and everything in her demeanor in the scant few weeks she occupied the office of Director of NCIS indicated that she planned to keep things strictly business between them. Which was perfectly fine with him... so long as she didn't complain about it later. It was old history, and he had moved on.

One of the agents outside waved him around the corner. "In the back, sir," he spoke before using his link to notify DiNozzo. He nodded in thanks, not breaking stride as he rounded the side of the house. Several of Kate's Secret Service friends had volunteered their days off to help with protection detail. While he normally didn't like to mix with other agencies, this one time he was willing to make an exception. NCIS could take care of its own, but he knew these agents considered it an honor to guard their friend.

"DiNozzo, sit rep!" he called as he crossed the last twenty yards between his second and a huddle of agents.

"Border's secure, boss. She's inside with Ziva, we're on lockdown."

"I need to house plans again."

"Agent Forelli just went to get them," answered another agent nearby.

The salt and pepper head nodded toward the door. "Let's move."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"You know him," Kate finally stated, her voice factual, not incriminating. "You have history with Tamir, but you were never involved with him. What's the connection?"

Ziva looked up from the floor plans, eyes narrowing, thinking for several long, silent moments before offering a reply. "I knew him when we were younger, in childhood. He was a close friend to Ari."

That name still rubbed Kate the wrong way, and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "Were you close to him?"

"To Ari or to Tamir?" asked the Mossad officer, her words careful and guarded.

"Tamir," Kate replied, although she would be lying if she didn't admit privately that she wondered if the woman had been close to Ari Haswari. What had their relationship been like?

"_Come on!" Daniel called impatiently, glaring at the youngest of the Todd boys, Jacob, who was still staring uncertainly at the wide jump over the cold creek. It wasn't like they would break anything if they fell, but they would probably fall in the just-below-freezing water and get scraped up on the rocks under its surface._

"_Wait!" Kate called, running down the narrow path and tripping on leaf-hidden roots. She caught herself before she fell forward. "Jake!" she protested, "Wait!"_

_His gaze went to Daniel, then back over his shoulder before he backed up a few feet and took off running. His sneakers left the bank by the time she came skidding to a stop in the place he had left vacant._

_Later, she wasn't really sure why her brothers bothered looking back at all. Or why she was bull-headed enough to try it. Daniel had been right when he told her that she couldn't do it. She might be more athletic at seven years old than most girls her age, but she didn't have the ability to make it across._

Ziva gave a slow shrug. "In Israel, tradition is strong. They had little time for a sister and a girl, much less a half sister."

_It was the shock of embarrassment that surprised her more than the icy water. Wounded pride was more painful than the scrapes and bruises all up and down her arms and legs. She'd managed to limp her way back to the house, arriving just as her mother pulled in the drive way. When her mother pressed her for details, she had mumbled something about falling in the creek while almost biting through her bottom lip in an effort not to cry at the sting of antiseptic. _

_The only bit of comfort came when both brothers were grounded for a week for not watching out for her. She'd had extra chores that night for ruining her jeans, never mind that she was already disappointed that her favorite pair had been ruined._

Kate's lips pursed, her eyes meeting defensive brown orbs. "They lived in their own world," she murmured, holding the gaze for a moment and giving a small, wry smile. Ziva might mask her emotions, but there was a flicker of surprise in the woman's expression, and a half moment of connection.

The door opened without preamble, making both women start out of habit. Both right hands brushed their weapons.

"Just grabbing the—" Gibbs began, glancing first to Kate and Ziva and a half moment later realizing what was spread across the kitchen table. "—floor plans."

Kate shifted, opening up a space beside her. "The west side offers the best cover with the trees. He wouldn't have had time to rent anything nearby for surveillance."

Gibbs nodded in agreement, his hand falling to her shoulder and giving a gentle squeeze. "You ok?"

She nodded, giving him a tight smile. "Yeah, are we finishing this out here or are we moving out?"

"Working on that," he answered quietly. "We're not doing anything til dark. You have a profile for me?"

She handed over a small stack of papers. "It's sketchy. He's not going to go for obvious. He prides himself on his ability to out-think his enemy." She savored the lingering hand on her shoulder, letting it steady her. "He probably has several plans, and he's going to take whatever opportunities open up." She glanced to her right, looking to Ziva for confirmation.

The dark head nodded in agreement. "It's what I would do. What we are trained to do—weigh various options, take advantage of the unexpected opportunity."

Gibbs nodded. "Kate, you good down here?"

"Yeah," she answered sturdily. "We're good." When his hand slid from her shoulder, she was a bit disappointed. _What did you expect, Caitlin? He's trying to keep you alive, which hasn't been an easy job lately._ "Where are you going?"

Icy blue eyes narrowed, mouth stretching into a thin line. "Hunting."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

Tony paced the kitchen, walking its length for the thousandth time before returning to the table where Kate, Ziva, the director and an agent were gathered. They had been running scenarios for two solid hours, Gibbs conspicuously missing the entire time.

"Grab a seat, you'll wear yourself out," Kate finally said to him as she toyed with her coffee mug. It was clear that she was uninterested in the remainder of her drink. Amber eyes were a bit red, the shadows underneath them were growing. "You should grab a nap."

He shook his head, although he did try to reign in the pacing. "Not gonna happen, and you know it."

"You'll sleep when Gibbs sleeps, I know," she sighed, eyes rolling.

He shrugged, gaze straying to the door again. _Really thought he'd be back by now, or at least would have checked in._ Turning back to Kate and the audience he had drawn with the remarks, he tried for casual and defaulted on poor humor. "Nope, Agent Todd. Last time I fell asleep, _someone_ was discussing the best ways to use pack tape to tape my legs to my chair." He glared at her, sans any real malice. Really, he was only irritated that he hadn't thought of it before her.

More than anyone, except maybe Gibbs, Tony knew Kate didn't intend for him to nap. He knew that _she_ knew there was no way in hell he was closing his eyes right now or any time in the foreseeable future. It was her way of trying to be nice. It unnerved him. Not because he didn't think she could be nice—she could be very thoughtful. It bothered him because the last time she was _this_ nice was when she stayed with him in quarantine while he was dying of Y. Pestis.

_You pulled out of the plague;, she'll pull out of being hunted by terrorists._ When all else failed, he reached for DiNozzo logic. "Pot, kettle," he answered easily, nodding to her and then down to himself. She really was the sister he never had.

She gave a shadow of a smile and rested her elbow on the table, head cradled in her palm. Kate needed sleep, no two ways about it. But sleep, it seemed, continued to be elusive at best for her. Lifting her mug to her lips, she took a small sip and grimaced, no doubt at the now cold drink.

"Kate," he murmured softly as Ziva and their director were talking quietly to one another.

Tired eyes lifted. "Hmmm?"

"Go lay down on the study, huh? I'll wake you up when he gets back."

Her head shook slightly. "Nah, I wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyway. Get me a refill, and I'm good."

His eyebrows lifted. "You know, you don't have to pick up _all_ of his bad habits."

She turned in her chair, meeting his gaze. He stood solidly before her, staring for a long time, mouth closed. The silence stretched between them before she nodded and gave him a wry smile. "Pot, kettle. Keep working on that stare." With that, she collected her coffee mug and slipped past him for a refill.


	29. Chapter 29

_Aaaannnd, here is the end! I could have split it up into 2 more chapters, but I just made it one super long one. I really love this story, and I'm glad for all the faithful readers along the way. I plan to take a bit of a break, and then will probably pick up with "I Really Hate You Right Now" which is set a few yrs from this one. I'm sure there will be some one shots here and there, too. Thank you all! Reviews are always such a delight._

He stalked silently through the trees, dressed in black, his face covered in grease paint. This felt familiar, and he let the comfort of training settle him step after step. It was all about control, about patience. Abby liked to call him 'silver-haired fox,' but tonight he was more lethal than merely cunning. More than a ghost as he slipped from tree to tree, making sure not to leave tracks.

His ear piece and cuff mic were off and tucked into a pocket, phone also stowed and off. After leaving Kate in the kitchen, he had found his way to the upstairs rooms and to the windows. Using the scope from a sniper rifle, he began to sweep the area. Searches in all directions hadn't given him much, so he'd waited for the sun to begin setting before telling DiNozzo he'd check in within three hours.

Two hours and nineteen minutes into his hunt, and he was circling around a point on the north end of the property. Everything sounded normal, the occasional rustle of a squirrel or a bird interrupting the quiet. The wind was light tonight, only enough to rustle the grass lightly as he passed.

About fifteen minutes before, he'd climbed a tree to get a better vantage point, scanning the next sector, north, before he headed that way. Sometime had caught his eye, a little glint that shouldn't be there. According to his tracking, it was about fifteen yards to his left. He circled silently, moving inward to be sure no one was lurking nearby.

The sun finally dipped below the horizon as Gibbs caught the flicker again in the last bit of light. Hanging from a tree branch was a slug. One that had been fired from a gun. He recognized the striations. He fished into his pocket for a moment, finding a disposable glove. Gibbs wrapped the glove around the bullet before pulling out his KA-BAR and cut the fishing line suspending the bullet. Both knife and evidence were quickly stowed, and Gibbs cursed, reaching up to head-slap himself.

This was planted. It was meant to keep him from the house. He took off in a run again, headed directly back. He pulled out his ear piece and cuff and called for DiNozzo.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

"Kate okay?" Tony asked as the director slipped out of the study, closing the door behind her.

"She's asleep on the couch," Jenny replied, leaning against the wall. "I know we're leaving when Gibbs gets back, but she was so exhausted…"

He nodded, relieved that she had finally fallen asleep. "No, let her sleep while she can." Tony gave the woman a small smile. "Director, thanks for letting her use this as a safe house."

The red head shook. "I'm just Jenny here. And I don't mess around when it's one of my agents on the line."

"Still," Tony pressed, feeling the need to make the point that Gibbs wouldn't bother making and the one Kate was too distracted to make. "Thanks."

Jenny nodded. "You're welcome, Tony. She really has taken all of this in stride, hasn't she."

He shrugged. "In the Secret Service, it was her life every day. I think it bothers her that she's not in control, though." Before she could say anything, he held up a hand as though to slow her down. "I know what you're gonna say. She hasn't been in control since she joined Team Gibbs, but you know what I mean."

"Yes," Jenny agreed.

His phone rang, and he reached for it, surprised to see the name on the screen. "It's Tony."

"Tony, we just received notice from metro police. They found a man murdered in a warehouse with all sorts of files and maps and pictures of Kate. One of the men who responded to the scene remembered seeing Kate from the shootings at the recruiting offices. They called us, and—"

"The _point_, McProbie?" he protested, knowing now why they drove the boss crazy with stuff like this. McGee and Abby were the worst offenders when it came to rambling.

"Tamir's dead."

Tony's eyes narrowed, and in his peripheral vision he caught sight of Jenny who was watching him with interest in the snippets of conversations she could hear. "You're sure about that. I mean one hundred percent?"

"Abby's running the DNA test now with a sample they brought, body's down in autopsy. It looks exactly like the pictures we have. The body's coming into autopsy now."

"Let me know as soon as Abby has the DNA. I'm not messing around with this."

"Got it," McGee answered. Before the senior agent could disconnect the call, he heard, "And Tony?"

"_What_?"

"He was gutted."

Tony's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"His hands were bound behind his back, legs, too. Hogtied. And then he was split open. I guess there were, um… intestines and all that spilled out. It was a mess."

_And a slow death. Deliberate. Revenge?_ "Got it, call me as soon as she has that DNA." He folded his phone and slid it back into the pocket before glancing up at a very curious Jenny. "Looks like Tamir may have bought the farm."

Ziva rounded the corner now, stopping short when she saw the other two. "I just received a call. Tamir—"

"Is dead," Tony finished for her. "McGee called me. They're running a DNA test to confirm it."

The Israeli shook her head. "No need. One of my contacts was able to confirm it. It is him."

"Ziva, did they say how he died?"

She shook her head. "No, I didn't care to ask. He was a… how do you say…"

"Bastard?" Jenny supplied, and the other woman nodded.

"He was hog tied and split open. Bled out," Tony supplied.

Ziva's lips pressed into a thin line. "Like a pig," she muttered.

"Or a loose end," Jenny murmured. She glanced between the other two. "Does that mean that this is over?"

Tony shrugged helplessly. Before he could answer, his phone was ringing again. He fished it out, flipping it open with one hand. "Boss?"

"Is Kate with you?"

Through the phone, he could easily hear the urgency and the heavy breathing and wind. Boss was running. "She's in the study, sleeping again—"

"Get in there now, damn it, I said not to leave her alone."

Tony tugged at the study door, almost walking into it when the knob refused to turn. "I left an agent in there with her—"

Ziva slipped around him, expertly flipping open her knife and slipping it into the thin space and releasing the lock with a click. She jumped back as the door was flung open .

In the corner was the agent, crumpled and unconscious. The window was partially open, letting in the slightest breeze to float through the otherwise empty room. "Agent's down," he breathed into the phone. Tony caught half of Gibb's growl before the line went silent. It shocked him into action, and he quickly lifted his cuff mic. "Agent down, Agent Todd is missing. Cover your areas, _now_."

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

Kate tried to hold back the grunt of ache when her captor jerked roughly on her hands, hands that were bound behind her back.

"You are only making it more difficult for yourself," he hissed, pressing his weapon against her ribs. Into the lingering bruises and ache.

It made her side burn, the ache building. She half wondered if it wouldn't be easier to pass out altogether. She bit her bottom lip to keep from making more noise.

_She was sleeping when she finally became aware of something warm and heavy over her mouth. Her eyes flashed open, voice catching in her throat when she saw first and foremost a gun pointed in her face. The muzzle pressed against her forehead._

"_Not a word," he breathed. The gun inched back, and she took her eyes off of it for a second to see a middle eastern man with narrow eyes so dark they were almost black and dark hair that curled at the ends. "Roll onto your stomach."_

_Kate took a slow breath and moved carefully to comply, scowling as the movement made her side start to hurt again. As she rolled to her right and then onto her stomach, she felt the empty holster where her gun had been. Hands took her wrists and before she could take another blink she felt cording wrapping them tightly and binding them. A quiet sound from her side, and then he dangled her knife before her eyes. _

"_You will not be needing this, either." The hand fell to her shoulder and pulled her up, forcing her to her feet, gun now pressing to the nape of her neck. He walked them to the window. "You will go out slowly and wait for me."_

_She glanced out into the dark, judging the short distance and coming up instantly with a number of ways to twist and pull free. "And if I don't?" she challenged quietly._

_He nodded to the collapsed figure just a foot away. "If you do not, then she will die."_

_It was Elena, one of Kate's Secret Service friends. She watched for a moment, making sure that the woman was still breathing, that he hadn't already killed her. Elena was alive, but even in the dim light, Kate could tell she was going to have a concussion. With a small nod of understanding, she began to awkwardly maneuver out of the window and dropped the few feet to the grass._

"Good girl," he sneered as she fell in step.

Kate frowned, but held her tongue. She would go along with it for now, relaxing and trying her best to comply. When another agent appeared at the corner of the house, he pulled her back against a little alcove that covered the large plastic trash cans from view.

"I will shoot you both if you make a sound," he breathed against her ear, the slightest chuckle slipping from her mouth when she shivered at the hot breath against her skin.

_Calm down and observe_, she warned herself, focusing on the feet running now across the courtyard, voices raised. She breathed slowly, not wanting to attract any attention to them just yet. He was pressing her back, hands pressed against the rough stone behind her. Rough stone. She felt for a sharper spot and carefully pressed the cord against it, rubbing it as much as she dared. Her gaze was pinned on him, trying to keep her movements at a minimum as she worked the cording against the roughest part of the stone.

Several voices were calling in, steps fading when her captor jerked her out and dragged them further into shadows. "Walk quietly," he murmured, the muzzle of his gun at the nape of her neck again.

Her fingernails dug into the start of the break in the cording. She needed something else, but he had taken her knife. Not that she could have reached for it anyway. _Focus on what you can do_, she reminded herself, nail digging harder into the cording as they reached the small garden pond.

A soft rustle beyond them startled her captor as the back door opened and a rush of outdoor lighting came alive. It was exactly opening she needed, and Kate launched herself at him, using her weight to knock him off balance and sending both of them into the dirty pool of water.

The icy coldness of the water was a shock to her system, taking her breath for a terrifying moment. Maybe it wasn't her best plan yet, but she struggled, squirming out of his reach and managing to knee him in the groin. She twisted, searching for the surface and breaking up with a gasp. Kate wrenched her arm, the cord not quite breaking, but allowing her wrist enough leverage to slip out.

He was behind her now, hand sliding around her throat. Kate grabbed at the other arm, tugging it away, seeing the knife. She rasped for air as the hand around her neck tightened. Three loud cracks, and his hand was limp, but before she could wrap her brain around what was happening, he was collapsing again.

All two hundred pounds dropped onto her, forcing her under the water again. Kate thrashed for a long moment, shoving away weight, kicking hard against an unyielding wall of concrete. She twisted. Something grabbed her, and she gasped in reflex inhaling the water. The grip was impossible to break, and it forced her up, dragging her.

"Kate! Katie!"

She was surrounded by air again, but Kate couldn't breath it in. Something wouldn't let her. Twisting away from the grip, she caught a glimpse of familiar piecing blue eyes before she felt concrete under her knees, a hand slapping at her back.

With a gag, water poured out, and she felt her stomach turn. Kate heaved again, arms and legs suddenly weak.

Warm hands brushed her hair from her face and rubbed her back firmly as she coughed and gagged up the remaining dirty water. When she finally took a few shuddering breaths, Gibbs was pulling her against his chest, letting her curl against him. "Sssh, you're okay, Katie. We got him."

"You got me," she breathed feeling the small chuckle and relaxing into the warmth while everything else seemed to whirl around them, agents busy and eventually the EMT crew arriving.

NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS * NCIS

Gibbs ran his fingers over the smooth planes of his boat, finally satisfied with his work and setting the smoothing plane on the counter and crossing the few feet to the overstuffed chair in the corner. Brushing his hands clean on his jeans, he tugged the blanket up around Kate's shoulders and pressed a soft kiss against her forehead. Her skin was comfortably warm, but not warm enough to have the fever the doctors had worried might come from inhaling pond water.

_Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion when he finally was allowed into the exam room. Kate was covered with a hospital blanket, hands wrapped in several bandages to keep clean the scrapes from the concrete. On the top, right corner of her forehead was a white butterfly bandage, keeping closed the cut on her forehead. Both wrists were bruised, but the doctor had assured both of them that she hadn't done more damage to her ribs and that she did not have a concussion. _

"_Is Elena okay?"_

_He nodded, brushing back a lock of her hair and tucking it behind her ear. "Yeah, mild concussion. They're keeping her overnight just to be safe."_

"_Your own blend?" she asked tiredly, glancing at the cup of coffee that Jenny had delivered when she came to check on both Kate and Elena._

_Gibbs shook his head. "From the shop downstairs."_

_Her brow furrowed, and he wished she wouldn't do that. He hated seeing her like that, unable to completely hide the little tinge of hurt. "Oh. I thought you might stay through visiting hours."_

_It almost made him smile. She expected him to insist that he needed to stay the night. "You're not staying the night. You're coming home with me."_

_She smiled a little at the words. "Good."_

_He pressed a kiss into her hair. "Yeah."_

Somewhere in the mess of the night, Abby was finally able to identify the DNA. Tamir was definitely gone. He had recognized the man who had Kate the moment he came up on them. Al-Assar was dead from four shots to his head and chest. His was the headshot; Jenny, Ziva and Tony had taken the three shots to his chest. Eventually he was sure that Abby would verify all of it, and at least they'd made it easy for Ducky to determine cause of death.

Ziva had slipped up to the hospital before Kate was released, filling him in on the remaining gaps. Subrinka had cut loose Al-Assar, cut off his funding and purged all ties. He was burned. In an effort to get back in with Subrinka, Al-Assar went after his loose end. Tamir. Kate wasn't even a blip on Subrinka's radar screen. The man's business was safe in Syria. It had seemed almost anticlimactic when he collected Kate from the hospital, stopping on the way home only for a little food while she called Rachel.

Kate gave a sigh and shifted slightly, frowning in discomfort. Amber eyes opened just a slit. "LJ?"

"Right here," he murmured, squatting in front of the chair. "Ready to sleep in a real bed?"

"Comfy here," she murmured, voice thick with sleep.

"I'm here all night," he assured, pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "Sleep, Katie." He wasn't surprised that she wanted to stay down here. It was his sanctuary, and somewhere over the weeks, it had become hers as well. Gibbs stood slowly, adjusting the blanket one more time around her and watching her chest rise and fall slowly.

He picked up a sanding block and returned to his boat, letting the paper slide evenly over the hull. Maybe by morning she would be up to helping. He had promised they would work on the boat a bit, and he kept his promises.


End file.
